The fact that 20,000 teachers went on strike in West Virginia with better healthcare being one of their key demands should terrify Republicans.
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The fact that 20,000 teachers went on strike in West Virginia with better healthcare being one of their key demands should terrify Republicans. https://t.co/XLN8HkRS6c #55strong pic.twitter.com/5u6rclpzqq
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 27, 2018
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NBC’s Ron Allen reported, “Well, they’ve got a meeting with the governor at 2:00. That’s a big breakthrough. As one teacher put it, it may be a lecture, not a negotiation. Back there is the entrance to the house chambers. We’re on the second floor of the capital building. Over in this direction, there’s another huge crowd, and that’s the entrance to the Senate chambers. They’ve been up here for several days chanting for better pay. As you pointed out, the demand better health care is a big issue. They say there’s solidarity. There’s 55 counties. There’s some 20,000 teachers who are out. Almost some 13,000 support staff who are out. They want a raise. They feel like this is an issue of justice. They feel like teachers don’t get paid enough. They keep pointing out that they are the 48th lowest paid teachers in the country. So they want to see something fundamentally changed.”
It is impossible for states and districts that offer low pay and poor benefits to attract quality qualified teachers. The West Virginia teachers’ strike is interesting because it comes at a time when Trump is pushing for teachers to carry guns in the classroom and act as security as well as educators. The strike is West Virginia is a signal that no part of the country is safe from anger and discontent that is the cultural mood under Trump.
Republicans should be scared because if the discontent can manifest itself in a state like West Virginia, the mood is ripe for a national backlash that could change the direction of the United States in the blink of an eye.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
