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> > In West Virginia, the Politicians Fail, and the Teachers Rise > > https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/03/opinion/west-virginia- > teachers-strike.html > > Morgantown, W.Va. — The rolling hills of West Virginia, where I grew up, > are home to some of my fondest memories. But time and time again, I’ve > watched them serve as a backdrop to injustice and negligence by those who > lead, often at the expense of a vulnerable population. > > This time, it’s our schoolchildren. > > At $45,622, West Virginia teachers are the 48th lowest earning > <http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/2017_Rankings_and_Estimates_Report-FINAL-SECURED.pdf> > in > the nation, according to the National Education Association. The minimum > salary is just over $32,000 > <http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4145%20SUB.htm&yr=2018&sesstype=RS&billtype=B&houseorig=H&i=4145>. > After months of tension over issues including salaries and health insurance > costs, the state’s public schoolteachers went on strike Feb. 22. > > On Friday, our state legislators refused to take action on a bill that > would, over time, give West Virginia teachers a proposed 5 percent raise, > and so the statewide work stoppage continued for a seventh day > <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/02/us/west-virginia-teachers-strike.html>, > with 250,000 students out from school as a result. > > Despite the loss in critical class time, the fight cannot end prematurely. > > As students remain at home, and families struggle to find alternative > forms of child care, teachers have to trust that West Virginians will do > what West Virginians do best; lean on each other. > > We’ve seen it happening already. Students turn to classmates to study for > Advanced Placement exams. Neighbors offer up their homes as oases while > parents are at work. But it will take more than an internal, neighborly > effort to realize what the work stoppage is all about: long-term, > systematic change. > > It’s easy to feel like West Virginia’s teachers are gaining national > momentum when the state’s name has appeared in national headlines this > week. But the coverage has merely scratched the surface of a complex issue > that predates these school closings. It is rooted in a history of West > Virginia politicians putting the interests of outsiders looking to make a > quick buck off the state’s beautiful land before the needs of the people > who live on it. > > We’ve seen it in flimsy safety and environmental regulations, which have > resulted in the deaths of countless miners > <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/us/08westvirginia.html?mtrref=www.google.com>, > and in the chemical spills > <https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/special_reports/kanawha-river-pollution-subject-of-tuesday-dep-hearing/article_ebcaeaca-7903-5d09-9fb2-fe5348fb276c.html> > that have plagued > <http://wvpublic.org/term/elk-river-chemical-spill#stream/0> surrounding > populations, leaving citizens without drinking water > <https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/health/years-after-mchm-spill-concern-about-wv-drinking-water-remains/article_6258b8ae-b019-5e94-9a70-410144490a8f.html> > and > living on poisoned land > <https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140116-chemical-valley-west-virginia-chemical-spill-coal/>. > We’ve seen it in the opioid crisis > <http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/eric-eyre>, too, where powerful drug > companies made sure that pills were plenty > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/01/31/a-town-of-3200-was-flooded-with-21-million-pain-pills-as-addiction-crisis-worsened-lawmakers-say/?utm_term=.4f8b3c37bd9c>, > but options for treatment continue to be scarce. > > And now we see it in education, where teachers, the single most valuable > resource available to children in this state, and therefore the most > powerful influence in guiding us toward a prosperous future, were presented > with a health insurance plan that amounted to a pay cut, all while > senators, who receive > <https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3wdn7/a-viral-video-revealed-big-energys-stranglehold-on-west-virginia-politics> > hefty checks > <https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3wdn7/a-viral-video-revealed-big-energys-stranglehold-on-west-virginia-politics> > from > gas and energy companies, could have funded education needs had they > passed > <https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/rejected-amendment-on-co-tenancy-bill-would-ve-given-money/article_4608a45f-eb57-552a-9593-f10a292a4f9b.html> > a > modest tax increase on these companies. > > This isn’t the first time West Virginia teachers have demonstrated > statewide unity. In 1990, an 11-day work stoppage > <https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/education/photos-west-virginia-s-first-teacher-s-strike-in-lasted/article_e9b71c49-265a-540d-b3b1-5bb333960909.html> > over > similar issues led to better wages, but the increase was temporary. > > That’s why when James C. Justice, our Republican governor, announced > Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with union leaders and told > teachers to go back to work, with nothing more than a good-faith handshake, > those on the ground thought better of it. > > Despite top-down orders from their union leaders to return to classes, > county by county, teachers got together. They met in public spaces and > communicated diligently with their neighbors, and on Wednesday night, the > teachers of all 55 counties made the decision, collectively, to extend the > work stoppage on their own terms. > > They kept schools closed on Thursday and Friday, and say they will > continue the strike until the Senate passes the proposed raise; 55 counties > united, shouting “this time will be different.” > > “Over the course of Wednesday, you saw every single county in the state > just clawing to get back together, and we did it,” said Kat Devlin, an > English teacher at University High School in Morgantown. “This is the prime > example of a grass-roots movement. It’s the teachers and the people on the > ground making this happen.” > > This is about more than livable wages. It’s about haves and have-nots, > it’s about workers’ dignity, and it’s going to set the bar for labor > organizers everywhere. > > The teachers of West Virginia are leading the way with a conviction that > should be a national example for challenging inequity. > > When they get back into their classrooms, hopefully sooner rather than > later, they must talk to their students about how, under intense pressure, > and with little more than the support they found in each other, they fought > for what was right, and they were heard. > Lauren Peace (@LaurenMPeace > <https://twitter.com/laurenmpeace>) is a reporter at the Democrat and > Chronicle in Rochester. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
