NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
April 6, 2018 | PAGE 7
... By every measure, the West Virginia teachers strike stands out
From Page 1
increased public education fund-
ing. And all of them were in-
spired by the example of 19,000
West Virginia teachers who
struck for nine days, shutting
schools statewide from Feb. 22
to March 6, and giving 277,000
students a lesson in union power.
And what an inspiring exam-
ple they set. By any measure, the
West Virginia teachers strike
stood out: the overwhelming
unity of the strikers, the broad
public support they found, their
reasonable demands, and their
stunning success. And all the
more remarkable, the strike took
place in a state where teachers
and other public workers had no
legally recognized right to strike,
nor even any process for collec-
tive bargaining.
The West Virginia teacher
strike started when the state Leg-
CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? Teachers completely filled the Kentucky Capitol
building April 2, furious about a law cutting their retirement benefits.
islature decreed inflation-trailing
raises of 2, 1, and 1 percent for
the next three years — after four
straight years of no raises — in
a state that already ranked fourth
from the bottom in the nation for
teacher pay. And even those pal-
try raises looked likely to be
gobbled up by increased health
insurance contributions.
And what a cast of villains
they were up against. Republi-
can Gov. James C. Justice is a
billionaire coal baron — and a
tax delinquent whose coal com-
panies owe millions in back
taxes. The state’s Republican-led
Legislature had for years cut
taxes on oil and gas companies
while telling teachers to tighten
their belts.
On the fifth day of the strike,
unions and the governor an-
nounced a deal: a 5 percent raise
and a task force to come up with
ways to reduce health costs. But
rank-and-file teachers weren’t in
a trusting mood, and resolved
overwhelmingly to stay out on
strike until the Legislature
passed it into law. They were
right to be leery: State Senate
President Mitch Carmichael, his
campaigns funded by gas com-
panies, balked at the deal, and
then tried to cut the raise to 4
percent. But teachers continued
to stand firm, and stayed out on
strike. Carmichael buckled.
The Legislature, which had
earlier said it couldn’t afford
more than 2 percent, now gave 5
percent, and not just to teachers,
but to all state workers, at a cost
of $110 million a year. If that
was intended to send a message
that teachers would not get spe-
cial treatment for striking, it
flopped: It sent an unintended
message that all public workers
are in it together, because state
workers knew they wouldn’t
have gotten the raise if the teach-
ers hadn’t struck.
In an era when the strike
seemed all but dead in America,
the West Virginia teachers strike
is a reminder to working people
from coast to coast just how
much power they can wield by
stopping work.
American workers were once
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QUESTION: WHAT DID YOU THINK OF
THE WEST VIRGINIA TEACHERS STRIKE?
“T
hey really stood
up, all of them,
whether they were Re-
publicans or Democrats.
School teachers and
their families stuck to-
gether and made up
their mind that no mat-
ter how long it would take, they were going to stay
out on strike. I hope it sends a message nationwide.”
— Ed Barnes, retired IBEW Local 48 business manager
(and native West Virginian)
“W
est Virginia shows
how, even without
collective bargaining rights
and in the face of opposition
from union leadership, rank-
and-file mobilization can
win huge victories.”
— Jamie Partridge,
retired member,
Letter Carriers Branch 82
“I
t’s time for peo-
ple to stand up
and take action.
That might be the
recipe across the
country.”
— Will Lukens,
Machinists District
Lodge W24 organizer