Generally, you have the same rights under the law as other employees. (If you work at a public school, public employees are often treated differently than private employees.) A book called “Your Rights at Work” published by NOLO Press is a fairly comprehensive explanation of your employment rights.

The other, equally important document is your union contract. It will likely spell out rights above and beyond the law, and lay out a procedure for resolving violations of your rights. You should be able to get a copy of your contract from your union steward or from the union hall if you do not already have one.

(Some states do not allow collective bargaining for public employees. If you teach in a public school in one of those states, you will not have a union contract.)

The union can be a valuable ally when fighting injustices at work. They can also sit on their hands and do nothing for you. But that is the fault of an individual rep or leader. The union is the most valuable tool any worker can have to defend their rights.

And personally, I don’t see the point in teachers unions as they can do nothing on the benefit of the teachers aside from complain for them.