User:MainlyTwelve/strikwave

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The 2018 teachers' strike wave began on February 22, 2018, with a call from the West Virginia branches of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association for teachers across West Virginia to strike. The strike—which ended when teachers returned to their classrooms on March 7—inspired similar, statewide strikes in Oklahoma and Arizona. It also smaller-scale protests by school staff in Kentucky, North Carolina, Colorado, and elsewhere.

In Colorado two

Republican party state representatives, Paul Lundeen and Bob Gardner, preemptively introduced a bill which would allow for court injunctions blocking the strike, allow school districts to fire the striking teachers, and impose court fines and six month jail sentences on strikers.[1]

origins and overview

Conditions for teachers in public schools worsened due to the Great Recession, during and after which states cut funding for education. West Virginia, where the strike wave began, ranked 46th out of 50 states for average teacher pay.

Table

Rank State Teacher salary rank (2016)[2] Demands Outcome
1 West Virginia West Virginia 46
2 Oklahoma Oklahoma 49 Raises for teachers and support staff; increased school budgets funded by capital gains tax increase Raises for teachers and support staff funded by regressive taxes
3 Arizona Arizona 47 Raises for teachers and support staff; smaller class sizes Strike is ongoing
4 Colorado Colorado 34

General sources

  • general overview article
  • another general overview
  • refers to it as "wave"
  • NYT re: beginning of Oklahoma
  • atlantic general piece about motivations
  • interview addressing strategic concerns
  • general overview from jac.
  • liberal response to the strike
  • mother jones overview re: strategy, etc.
  • NY Mag overview
  • strikes occur in red states
  • new yorker overview
  • intercept organizing charter schools

West Virginia

  • "months in the making"
  • insurance

Oklahoma

Arizona

  • editorial, not that great
  • privatization

Kentucky

North Carolina

Indiana

Colorado

  1. ^ Thomsen, Jacqueline (23 April 2018). "Colorado bill would punish striking teachers with jail time". The Hill. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Rankings of the States 2015 and Estimates of School Statistics 2016". National Education Association. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
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