All Hands on Deck: The West Virginia Teachers' Strike

Details: Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1571 ... March 15, 2018
_____________________________________________________________

All Hands on Deck: The West Virginia Teachers’ Strike

Jane McAlevey

Dignity and respect are the root cause of every serious labor struggle. This was certainly the case in West Virginia’s unprecedented nine-day statewide education strike. When the workers won this past Tuesday, singing and dancing erupted among the thousands who packed the state capitol. Their final chant before leaving the building was, "Who made history? We made history!"

The strike produced a string of significant victories, not all of which are immediately tangible. Perhaps most significantly, it restored the dignity of 34,000 workers, rebuilding the pride of West Virginia’s working class and reinforcing one hell of a union that will carry the struggle forward.

This point seemed lost on much of the... media that covered the strike. No matter how many times workers talked about defending public education and expanding quality schools, the press focused on just two issues: health insurance and a raise. But Wendy Peters, the president of the Raleigh affiliate of the West Virginia Education Association, says, "Wages and health benefits were almost a distraction. They are important, but there were five major stances we took, and we won all five."