West Virginia Teachers strike shows labor's power
by spencer wakefield
On February 22nd, teachers all across West Virginia didn’t show up to work, and neither did any substitutes the districts frantically called. This was the first day of a two week long strike organized by the West Virginia Teachers Union over low pay, as well as the teaching vacancies in West Virginia schools resulting in grades being combined. In addition to being the 48th lowest paid teachers in the nation, the West Virginian teachers were in charge of classes they were not certified to teach.
The governor backed out on a pay raise agreement and the State Legislature tried to pass a bill to lower the teaching requirements. In a state of rage, all 55,000 teachers in the state started striking.
On March 3rd, Union representatives and the State Legislature reached an agreement on the 5% raise promised by the governor in the preceding year, but the legislature passed a bill that did not guarantee benefits and only gave the teachers a 4% raise, resulting in the strike lasting another two school days.
Teachers were seen wearing red to commemorate the Battle of Blair Mountain, a monumental strike of coal miners in West Virginia that resulted in over a million rounds being fired. Bombs from the government were dropped on the miners and police involvement was high. The uprising resulted in a handle of deaths and a victory for the military.
Oklahoma teachers, also plagued by low pay, with the 50th lowest pay in the nation, have been inspired by the strike and may be walking off the job some time this month. Kentucky, another neighboring state, also had similar budget cuts. Whether or not strikes begin sweeping the nation in a show of organized labor triumphing over employers remains to be seen, but many are impressed by the largest strike of public employees in decades.
The governor backed out on a pay raise agreement and the State Legislature tried to pass a bill to lower the teaching requirements. In a state of rage, all 55,000 teachers in the state started striking.
On March 3rd, Union representatives and the State Legislature reached an agreement on the 5% raise promised by the governor in the preceding year, but the legislature passed a bill that did not guarantee benefits and only gave the teachers a 4% raise, resulting in the strike lasting another two school days.
Teachers were seen wearing red to commemorate the Battle of Blair Mountain, a monumental strike of coal miners in West Virginia that resulted in over a million rounds being fired. Bombs from the government were dropped on the miners and police involvement was high. The uprising resulted in a handle of deaths and a victory for the military.
Oklahoma teachers, also plagued by low pay, with the 50th lowest pay in the nation, have been inspired by the strike and may be walking off the job some time this month. Kentucky, another neighboring state, also had similar budget cuts. Whether or not strikes begin sweeping the nation in a show of organized labor triumphing over employers remains to be seen, but many are impressed by the largest strike of public employees in decades.