Here ye, Here ye: the West Virginia teacher strike is over. And the ending is monumental—the teachers got what they wanted. Jim Justice, West Virginia’s governor announced a 5 percent pay raise for all employees in the public education system (note: this must be approved by West Virginia lawmakers in order to be enacted). This ended the four-day teacher strike, allowing public schools to resume session on March 1.
Here’s the what, why, where, and when that you need to know about the strike.
West Virginia public school teachers had had enough. This past Tuesday marked the fourth day of teachers striking, leaving all 680 public schools closed and nearly 250,000 students out of school. The teachers were striking for higher pay and better health care. Rightly so, for West Virginia teachers are the 48th lowest paid group of educators in the United States.
Striking started after the Governor signed legislation on Wednesday, February 21 for a pay increase for those involved in the education system. According to Vox Media, this piece of legislation proposed a 2 percent pay increase. That increase would start in July 2018, and an additional 1 percent pay increase would follow in 2020 and 2021. The legislation failed to cover any type of increase in benefits, and the original passed legislation was a reduction from an earlier draft. According to CNN, the early draft of the legislation proposed a 5 percent pay increase. As we know now, this is what will be given, although it was not earned easily.
Teachers, upset at how ineffective this legislation would be on their quality of life, decided to make themselves heard. Striking started the day after the original piece of legislation was signed Thursday, February 22. The state capitol was overwhelmed by 20,000 public school teachers on Tuesday. Nearly 13,000 service and administrative employees of the West Virginia education joined them. It is illegal for teachers to strike in West Virginia, but the teachers showed no sign of giving up. Statements collected by Vox Media show that strikers had little to no concern over the legal circumstances surrounding the strike. It was time for to make themselves heard, no matter the repercussions. As of now, there have been no reports of firing due to striking.
The effect of the strike rippled through the state. Many low-income students in West Virginia depend on school provided lunches. However, communities came together to make sure that no student was left behind. Food banks filled in during the strike, according to NBC, and the state’s citizens overwhelmingly supported the strike. Now, the teachers got what they want, and students can return to school.
However, the battle is not over. According to CNN, teachers are raising concern over a lack of improvement to insurance coverage provided to those in the education system. Keep an eye on West Virginia during these next couple of weeks, for if the union fails to get what is desires, teachers may strike again. As a student who attended 13 years of public school, I stand with the teachers and education system employees with their battle for a better quality of life.
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