West Virginia teachers strike -- still going!

[ckaihatsu]

Here's a very timely and opportune development within the working class:





The WSWS urges teachers to form rank-and-file committees to issue an appeal for coordinated action of all workers. We call on miners, public sector workers, autoworkers and other sections of the working class, students and youth, to form committees and organize meetings to discuss immediate measures to assist teachers and prevent any effort to victimize or fire them.

A united struggle of the working class cannot be waged within the framework of the trade unions, which are isolating the teachers and preparing to impose a defeat. The teachers’ unions in West Virginia have said that they will shut down the strike if the governor and state legislators agree to a face-to-face meeting and issue worthless promises about special sessions or task forces to address the funding crisis sometime in the future.

The same bogus pledges were made to teachers the last time they struck in 1990 and nothing has changed.

The unions are trying to channel opposition behind the Democratic Party. But the Democrats—who have controlled the governor’s seat in West Virginia for 32 of the last 40 years—defend the interest of corporate America and Wall Street no less ruthlessly than their Republican counterparts.




http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/02/27/west-f27.html

[ckaihatsu]

West Virginia strike continues as teachers reject unions’ back-to-work order

By Joseph Kishore
1 March 2018

The statewide strike by more than 30,000 West Virginia teachers and school employees is continuing today, with workers rejecting an agreement announced Tuesday by the trade unions and the state’s billionaire governor, Jim Justice.

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/03/01/teac-m01.html

[Stardust]

A similar movement is taking place by the lecturers and students in the UK.

‘LECTURERS and students unite and fight!’ rang out through the streets of central London yesterday as up to 5,000 striking lecturers, supported by their students, marched from ULU (University of London Union) to Parliament. Yesterday was the lecturers’ fifth day of strike action, shutting 61 universities across the length and breadth of the country, with more strikes planned for March in an escalating battle against an unprecedented attack on their pensions.

wrp.org.uk/news/14106

[Jimmie Higgins]

From what I’ve read, the combativeness of rank and file teachers has been very encouraging.

This is in the heart of what the mainstream thinks of as Trump-country. Maybe teachers should be armed like Trump says... just not in the schools, lol.

[ckaihatsu]

Pizza Fund for Striking WV Teachers a Huge Success; WV Teachers’ Strike Fever Starting to Spread to Other States


The Organizer <[email protected]>


Thank-you letter from United Educators of San Francisco President Lita Blanc to the 641 unionists and activists who have donated $16,281 thus far to the Pizza Fund for the Striking West Virginia Teachers and Staff

Thank you to each and every one of you who have made a contribution to the pizza fund. My inbox has been exploding all day with messages of appreciation and gratitude for your generosity. Word on the ground is that the striking teachers are more determined than ever to stay united until their demands are met.

Your solidarity has been crucial at a time when teachers and school staff in West Virginia are taking a stand for their profession, their students and for public education. One West Virginia teacher wrote to tell me that he was so moved by your support that he is already planning on organizing a similar pizza solidarity campaign for teachers in Oklahoma, should they go on strike.

Small gestures can and make an enormous difference. I have been telling everyone that although UESF opened the doors for this effort, the generosity came from hundreds of people from all over the country. Please continue to spread the word.

350 pizzas will be delivered tomorrow at noon to educators at the state Capitol. Our goal is to be able to provide food for our union family throughout this week and beyond, if necessary. Thank you for making it possible.

Lita Blanc

UESF

March 5, 2018 – 7:30 pm



PS: Please continue to send your donations to:



https://www.gofundme.com/pizzas-for-west-virginia-teachers



Any left-over funds will be donated to the three unions on strike: West Virginia Education Association, AFT- West Virginia and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association.



https://s18.postimg.org/6nxp6m4c9/20180306_Go_Fund_Me_Pizzas_for_West_Virginia_Teach ers.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/sn43ttl6d/)




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CBS News-NY: GoFundMe Campaign Sends Pizza To Striking West Virginia Teachers


http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/03/05/pizza-west-virginia-teacher-strike/

March 5, 2018 at 3:14 pm

(CBS Local) — West Virginia teachers striking for better wages will be marching with a picket sign in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other thanks to a fellow educator’s crowdfunding campaign.

Lita Blanc, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, started a GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/pizzas-for-west-virginia-teachers) page on Mar. 4 to raise money to feed the protesters at the West Virginia state capitol building. In less than 24 hours, Blanc’s page reached its $10,000 goal for the three-day pizza delivery. “The first pizza delivery is already scheduled for noon on Monday, March 5th at the State Capitol in Charleston,” the UESF president wrote.

The West Virginia teachers strike reached its eighth day on Mar. 5, shutting schools for about 277,000 students and 35,000 workers throughout the state. The teachers are refusing to return to the classroom until state lawmakers agree to give them a raise in pay. “You’re looking at people here who every day care about other people, other families.

People’s kids,” elementary school reading specialist Kristie Skidmore said, via CBS Pittsburgh (http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/03/05/west-virginia-teacher-strike-reaches-8th-day/). “But at the end of the day, now we’re forced to be able to figure out how to care for our own families. That’s what it’s all about.”

West Virginia educators have vowed to strike indefinitely after West Virginia’s state senate lowered a five percent raise to four percent on Mar. 3. The five percent promise was agreed to by Governor Jim Justice and the West Virginia House of Delegates before the senate changed the deal.

Lita Blanc’s pizza fundraiser will reportedly feed up to 3,000 teachers each day as the strike enters its second week. The GoFundMe page adds that any leftover funds will be donated to the three unions representing the striking teachers.

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Charleston WOWK: California group orders hundreds of pizzas for West Virginia teachers (March 5)

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK (http://www.wowktv.com/news/education/california-group-orders-hundreds-of-pizzas-for-west-virginia-teachers/1010472892)) – The United Educators of San Francisco have raised more than $11,000 to buy a pizza for the teachers striking at the West Virginia Capitol building.

Husson’s Pizza confirms to 13 News that an order from San Francisco of 500 pizzas is being given to teachers by the slice at the Capitol this afternoon. Nick Husson himself is at the capitol to hand the slices of pizza out.

The GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/pizzas-for-west-virginia-teachers) was started by Lita Blanc, the President of the UESF (http://www.uesf.org/officers_and_staff/), and has raised more than $11,004 in 22 hours.

The description for the GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/pizzas-for-west-virginia-teachers) says:

This fund will provide pizzas and water for thousands of striking West Virginia teachers and school staff. The first pizza delivery is already scheduled for noon on Monday, March 5th at the State Capitol in Charleston. Organizers on the ground have told me that this will allow many more people to stay throughout the day to push for their demands.

$10,000 will pay for three days worth of pizzas for 3000 striking workers. Any left-over funds will be donated to the three unions on strike: West Virginia Education Association, AFT- West Virginia and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association.

I am the president of United Educators of San Francisco, which represents 6,200 certificated and classified educators, and a delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council.

This is solidarity in action. Please donate today!

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“People Have Just Had Enough”: West Virginia Teachers Continue Historic Strike into Eighth Day

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/5/people_have_just_had_enough_west

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West Virginia Teachers’ Strike Fever Starting to Spread to Other States – Payday Report (March 4)

http://paydayreport.com/west-virginia-teachers-strike-fever-starting-spread-states/

BY: MIKE ELK MARCH 4, 2018

The West Virginia teachers’ strike now entering its second week appears to be inspiring the nation. It looks now like the teachers’ militancy to strike has inspired many of their students as well as teachers in other states.

How far the teachers’ strike spreads at this point is unclear.

On Saturday, teachers in Oklahoma began holding meetings to discuss a strike and quickly garnered 40,000 fans on their Facebook page when they announced their plans for a work stoppage.

“We are to the point where we have no other option,” Heather Reed, a teacher in Oklahoma City told KTUL (http://ktul.com/news/local/oklahoma-teachers-planning-a-statewide-strike).

Now, Payday Report has learned that teachers in neighboring states along West Virginia’s border with Kentucky and Pennsylvania are considering striking in solidarity with the West Virginia teachers.

Many of the teachers in the district along the border have faced cutbacks in no small part because of delinquent tax payments by coal barons such as West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, whose mining company owes more than $15 million in 6 different states.

The strike wave could spread even further as the teachers and their allies try to build a nationwide movement.

Next week, United Mineworkers President Cecil Roberts and several thousand coal miners and teachers from West Virginia are expected to travel fifteen minutes North across the border for a massive union rally in Waynesburg, Pa. The rally is intended as a show of support for Conor Lamb, who is in close race for the 18th district Congressional seat up for grabs March 13th.

In addition, unions and activists have organized rallies around the nation as the illegal wildcat strike appears to be enjoying mass support.

It does not appear that the strike will be resolved anytime soon as many teachers have stated that they are prepared to remain absent from work for at least another week.

This weekend, Senate President Mitch Carmichael rejected a deal previously agreed upon in principle, which would have given teachers a 5% raise. Instead, the Senate passed a deal giving teachers a 4% raise. This led the teachers to announce they would continue their strike.

“At this point, the three organizations announce that we are out indefinitely — we will not accept the 4 percent,” said Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, speaking on behalf of the three striking unions. “Until this bill passes at 5 percent, we will be out indefinitely.”

Donate to Payday (http://paydayreport.com/donate/) To Help Us Pay Our Travel Expenses While We Keep Covering the Teachers’ Strike!

Support our work (http://paydayreport.com/support-our-work/)! Become a dues-paying reader by pledging at least $3/month or $36/year here (http://paydayreport.com/support-our-work/). Subscribe to our weekly Payday Lunch Pail newsletter, focused on labor in the South, here (http://paydayreport.com/subscribe/).

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Opinion | The Rising Ghosts of Labor in the West Virginia Teacher Strike - The New York Times (March 5)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/opinion/west-virginia-teacher-strike.html

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[ckaihatsu]

West Virginia Teachers Win!


https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=05bb93ea78&view=fimg&th=162014e868a4c198&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_jeh9k8w30_162012ba012944ee&attbid=ANGjdJ9v4WWsecC4hagZl5-zp5pjWC_cIj8UFH55sQawmGKZ53Bu_p-wqIvBaQlKjRm_eB_UBv9hbuyhRwz_f-H6IbHO-9hvp6UOTPDTBHEhmqfELUMwJny8ht42Fr0&sz=w1088-h812&ats=1520440386689&rm=162014e868a4c198&zw&atsh=1


The West Virginia teachers have shown us all what it takes to win a strike -- and what it will take to defeat Janus and grow our labor movement.

After nine days on strike, the governor and state legislature caved, granting the teachers and school staff their main demand: the 5% wage increase (an increase that cover all state employees, as well).

After a West Virginia senator announced the agreement, there was some initial concern that the agreement had included language tying the 5% pay increase to $20 million in cuts in social services and Medicaid. Teachers and school staff interviewed immediately after the announcement said they did not want to be pitted against the poorest of the poor in West Virginia.

But it soon became apparent that all the state Republicans' talk about "fiscal responsibility" was little more than an attempt to save face. There was no wording in the agreement that ties the pay increase to cuts [see www.wvlegislature.gov and search for HB4145 text].

This does not mean, however, that the state officials will not try to try to impose these cuts to pay for the pay raise. You can be sure they will try!

A strike supporter put it this way: "It's important that the teachers didn't have to agree to these cuts to get a victory for themselves and for the other state employees. That frees them up to join fully with others to fight the cuts when they are proposed."

Another strike supporter explained:

"At this point the teachers and school staff have all the momentum, and they can fight to make sure the funds for this raise come from the rich, not working people, when the budget is eventually passed. Strikers here are ecstatic, people are literally hugging strangers and weeping in joy. It's an historic victory for the working class. Hopefully it will be the first of many to come."

We agree.

For more information about the strike settlement, what it took to win, and how the rank-and-file are reacting to the agreement, go to the link below to read the interviews in Jacobin magazine conducted by Eric Blanc with strikers Emily Comer and Jay O'Neal, both of whom are pictured below unloading some of the 700 pizzas that were sent by United Educators of San Francisco and their supporters to the West Virginia striking teachers and school staff.

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/03/west-virginia-teachers-strike-agreement-budget

We would like to thank the dozens of readers and supporters of The Organizer newspaper for contributing generously to the teachers' GoFundMe WC Strikers' Pizza Fund. Your contributions made a huge difference. UESF President Lita Blanc reports that she received scores of letters from West Virginia thanking the S.F. teachers for their generosity and support.

You can also read the articles (reports and analysis) on the West Virginia strike in the Feb.-March 2018 issue of The Organizer newspaper by sending away for a sample copy of our paper to <[email protected]> or visiting our website at www.socialistorganizer.com.

In solidarity,

The Editorial Board of
The Organizer newspaper

P.S.: To read a story published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on the San Francisco teachers' pizza fund campaign for the West Virginia strikers, go to:

https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/fundraiser-pays-for-hundreds-of-pizzas-to-feed-wv-teachers/article_2bf8a8d0-a19a-51e5-9c1a-9c846798cdf2.html



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https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=05bb93ea78&view=fimg&th=162014e868a4c198&attid=0.2&disp=emb&realattid=ii_jehauhzm1_162014c8f850db31&attbid=ANGjdJ_E1L8Em_W2BO2i799uGLpMURNL330FdTABRLB aLq54_8_XPSaaw-Knt5suU04n-waAEw8bdgwmbrIBf4WXwep3LDQpuuDBCFDxQTxlmklMOTWBGTX xSXGHRuY&sz=w816-h1088&ats=1520440386691&rm=162014e868a4c198&zw&atsh=1
Strikers Emily Comer and Jay O'Neal (photo: Eric Blanc)