Teachers union suing Nevada over state's ban on striking

Nevada's largest teachers union is taking the state of Nevada and the Clark County School District to court over a ban on strikes.

The Clark County Education Association, which represents more than 16,000 employees, is this week filed a lawsuit in the 8th Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada challenging Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 288.700, which prohibits strikes by workers against the state or local government employers.

The lawsuit comes after union members held a rally on Saturday in support of higher pay.

The statute “impermissibly impinges upon the First Amendment rights of CCEA and its members, is overbroad, void for vagueness, is not narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling state interest, lacks specific enforcement standards, and encourages, authorizes, and fails to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement,” the lawsuit argues.

Meanwhile, CCEA wants the court to declare the statute unconstitutional. The law defines “strike” to including a work stoppage, slowdown, or interruption of operations by state or local government employees.

"The blanket prohibition on strikes contained in NRS 288.700 impermissibly inhibits protected activity involving fundamental rights of expression and assembly," the lawsuit adds.