SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
West Virginia teachers, students and supporters hold signs on a Morgantown street as they continue their strike on March 2, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
'A Class of People Rising Up' as West Virginia Teachers Strike Hits Eighth Day
"This is a real 'us against them,' this is a real working people standing up against huge corporations."
Mar 05, 2018
Thousands of teachers flooded the West Virginia capitol on Monday as their historic statewide strike entered its eighth day following the Senate's refusal to back a five percent pay raise bill--one of the educators' key demands.
"What we're seeing is a movement in the U.S. Not just a labor movement. It's a class of people rising up," Sam Brunett, an art teacher at Morgantown High School, said to USA TODAY.
Other Twitter users on the ground captured the scene in and outside the rotunda:
After a screw-up, the state Senate on Saturday passed a 4-percent increase for the teachers after Gov. Jim Justice and the Republican-controlled last week agreed to a 5 percent increase.
"A conference committee is set to meet at 4pm to hammer out a compromise.
Yet even if a reconciliation leads to a five percent increase, it leaves out what Jay O'Neal, a middle school teacher and a union activist in Charleston, W.Va., says is "the biggest root issue of everything" --their health insurance program, the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA).
Angie Johnson, a reading and language arts teacher at Westwood Middle School in Morgantown, W.Va., explained to This Is Hell radio that "the whole movement started over our health insurance constantly eroding."
"We cannot live comfortably already because our pay is so low," she said, bemoaning the "erosion" of PEIA that hits already thin wallets with soaring premiums.
"This is a real 'us against them,' this is a real working people standing up against huge corporations. That's the beauty of it. But that's also the hardship of it."
--Angie Johnson, W.Va. teacher"What the governor is pitching, she said, "in no way" offsets the cost of the health insurance. She also noted that the insurance program's reach extends far beyond teachers, as it "affects all school employees and state police, firefighters, and all university employees."
"This is a real 'us against them,' this is a real working people standing up against huge corporations," Johnson said. "That's the beauty of it. But that's also the hardship of it."
As Labor reporter Mike Elk told Democracy Now! Monday, there's a clear source of revenue to fund PEIA: "Currently, the governor of the state is proposing an increased tax on natural gas to pay for that. However, the Republicans in the state Legislature and their allies in the fossil fuel industry are dead set against an increased tax on natural gas. So this could all be easily fixed if there was just a tax on natural gas. However, it doesn't appear that the traditional fossil fuel industries in West Virginia want to see that tax go through to end this teachers' strike."
Follow the hashtags #55Strong, #55United, and #WVteacherStrike as developments continue:
Tweets about #55Strong OR #55United OR #WVTeacherStrike
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Thousands of teachers flooded the West Virginia capitol on Monday as their historic statewide strike entered its eighth day following the Senate's refusal to back a five percent pay raise bill--one of the educators' key demands.
"What we're seeing is a movement in the U.S. Not just a labor movement. It's a class of people rising up," Sam Brunett, an art teacher at Morgantown High School, said to USA TODAY.
Other Twitter users on the ground captured the scene in and outside the rotunda:
After a screw-up, the state Senate on Saturday passed a 4-percent increase for the teachers after Gov. Jim Justice and the Republican-controlled last week agreed to a 5 percent increase.
"A conference committee is set to meet at 4pm to hammer out a compromise.
Yet even if a reconciliation leads to a five percent increase, it leaves out what Jay O'Neal, a middle school teacher and a union activist in Charleston, W.Va., says is "the biggest root issue of everything" --their health insurance program, the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA).
Angie Johnson, a reading and language arts teacher at Westwood Middle School in Morgantown, W.Va., explained to This Is Hell radio that "the whole movement started over our health insurance constantly eroding."
"We cannot live comfortably already because our pay is so low," she said, bemoaning the "erosion" of PEIA that hits already thin wallets with soaring premiums.
"This is a real 'us against them,' this is a real working people standing up against huge corporations. That's the beauty of it. But that's also the hardship of it."
--Angie Johnson, W.Va. teacher"What the governor is pitching, she said, "in no way" offsets the cost of the health insurance. She also noted that the insurance program's reach extends far beyond teachers, as it "affects all school employees and state police, firefighters, and all university employees."
"This is a real 'us against them,' this is a real working people standing up against huge corporations," Johnson said. "That's the beauty of it. But that's also the hardship of it."
As Labor reporter Mike Elk told Democracy Now! Monday, there's a clear source of revenue to fund PEIA: "Currently, the governor of the state is proposing an increased tax on natural gas to pay for that. However, the Republicans in the state Legislature and their allies in the fossil fuel industry are dead set against an increased tax on natural gas. So this could all be easily fixed if there was just a tax on natural gas. However, it doesn't appear that the traditional fossil fuel industries in West Virginia want to see that tax go through to end this teachers' strike."
Follow the hashtags #55Strong, #55United, and #WVteacherStrike as developments continue:
Tweets about #55Strong OR #55United OR #WVTeacherStrike
Thousands of teachers flooded the West Virginia capitol on Monday as their historic statewide strike entered its eighth day following the Senate's refusal to back a five percent pay raise bill--one of the educators' key demands.
"What we're seeing is a movement in the U.S. Not just a labor movement. It's a class of people rising up," Sam Brunett, an art teacher at Morgantown High School, said to USA TODAY.
Other Twitter users on the ground captured the scene in and outside the rotunda:
After a screw-up, the state Senate on Saturday passed a 4-percent increase for the teachers after Gov. Jim Justice and the Republican-controlled last week agreed to a 5 percent increase.
"A conference committee is set to meet at 4pm to hammer out a compromise.
Yet even if a reconciliation leads to a five percent increase, it leaves out what Jay O'Neal, a middle school teacher and a union activist in Charleston, W.Va., says is "the biggest root issue of everything" --their health insurance program, the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA).
Angie Johnson, a reading and language arts teacher at Westwood Middle School in Morgantown, W.Va., explained to This Is Hell radio that "the whole movement started over our health insurance constantly eroding."
"We cannot live comfortably already because our pay is so low," she said, bemoaning the "erosion" of PEIA that hits already thin wallets with soaring premiums.
"This is a real 'us against them,' this is a real working people standing up against huge corporations. That's the beauty of it. But that's also the hardship of it."
--Angie Johnson, W.Va. teacher"What the governor is pitching, she said, "in no way" offsets the cost of the health insurance. She also noted that the insurance program's reach extends far beyond teachers, as it "affects all school employees and state police, firefighters, and all university employees."
"This is a real 'us against them,' this is a real working people standing up against huge corporations," Johnson said. "That's the beauty of it. But that's also the hardship of it."
As Labor reporter Mike Elk told Democracy Now! Monday, there's a clear source of revenue to fund PEIA: "Currently, the governor of the state is proposing an increased tax on natural gas to pay for that. However, the Republicans in the state Legislature and their allies in the fossil fuel industry are dead set against an increased tax on natural gas. So this could all be easily fixed if there was just a tax on natural gas. However, it doesn't appear that the traditional fossil fuel industries in West Virginia want to see that tax go through to end this teachers' strike."
Follow the hashtags #55Strong, #55United, and #WVteacherStrike as developments continue:
Tweets about #55Strong OR #55United OR #WVTeacherStrike
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy