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Fred Albert, president of the branch of the American Federation of West Virginia Teachers, raises his fist while he calls, along with other union leaders from WVEA, AFT-WV and WVSSPA, for a strike On the statewide ladder Tuesday at a press conference outside the Senate Chamber at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on Monday. (Craig Hudson / AP)
Almost exactly one year after their release inspired a national movement, Virginia school teachers and workers again went on strike Tuesday to protest a bill to invest public funds in vouchers for private schools and schools. charter schools, diverting them from traditional public schools.
Union representatives announced a strike Monday inside the state house, just as state senators were preparing to vote to amend a finance bill. to include the creation of charter schools and vouchers for private schools. Coupons, called education savings accounts, would deposit funds into special accounts for parents of children with special needs, which would allow them to spend on educational services of their choice.
"Tomorrow we call a state-wide strike," said Fred Albert, president of the West Virginia branch of the American Federation of Teachers. A crowd of supporters applauded loudly. "We have no other choice. Our voice has been excluded. "
On February 22, 2018, teachers in West Virginia shocked the country by calling a nationwide strike to protest late wages and rising health care costs. State school districts were forced to close their schools for nine days until teachers got a 5% increase – but no relief from health care costs.
Their daring demonstration triggered a wave of teacher and protest protests that affected half a dozen other states at the end of the year, including in Oklahoma and Arizona, where teachers were able to convince state legislators to increase. Last month, teachers in Los Angeles, the country's second largest school district, went on strike to fight overcrowding in classrooms and the lack of nurses and counselors. Following protests in West Virginia, hundreds of educators have come forward, including Jahana Hayes, a 2016 year teacher, now a member of the Connecticut Congress.
[Midterms test the durability of the teacher uprising]
This time, teachers in West Virginia are frustrated with the proposal to create an education savings account, a kind of good exchange in a private school in which the state pays off. Money on a special account that eligible beneficiaries can pay for a private school. The bill would also have allowed charter schools to establish in the state. The State Senate has incorporated these proposals into a funding bill providing for increases for teachers and more funding for rural schools. The House of Delegates of West Virginia voted in favor of eliminating the two proposals in the bill.
The bill was returned to the state Senate Monday night, who voted in favor of adding the amendment. Senate Speaker Mitch Carmichael (right) said last month that he wanted to expand his choice of schools in the state.
"I think it's a moral imperative for us to inculcate competition, flexibility and success in the school system," Carmichael said, according to Herald-Dispatch. "Through public charter schools is an option."
Teachers' unions have accused state legislators of standing on the side of outside advocates who have come out in favor of charter schools and education savings accounts.
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