Why are teachers on strike in Oakland, Los Angeles and Denver? : NPR

The current wave of teacher walkouts began a year ago this week, as West Virginia educators walked out of the classroom for nine days. The move spread to five more states before the end of the school year.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that nearly half a million American workers were laid off on strike or locked out in 2018, and that nearly 400,000 of them were teachers. This was the biggest year of work stoppage since 1986.

This year, individual districts – like Denver and Los Angeles – have resumed their lifestyles. Teachers in Oakland, Calif., Were on picket lines Thursday and Friday, and Sacramento teachers might be following.

Educators say that they are angry. They do not like how states and school districts treat them and their students. Much of the frustration is related to money, but dignity and respect are also cornerstones.

Why are teachers on strike?

Teachers earn less than other workers with comparable experience and training – a gap that has grown in recent years. More than one million teachers are not covered by social security. An NPR / Ipsos survey conducted in April revealed that 59% of teachers had a second job and 86% said they spent their own money on classroom supplies.

In most states where teachers left their classrooms last year, as in Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado, teachers earn even less than other educators in the country, especially after adjusting their remuneration according to the cost of living.

Many of these educators demanded better salaries and more money for schools. Some had what they wanted – at least they had been promised.

Last year, a major decision of the Supreme Court struck a heavy blow to teacher unions. In Janus c. AFSCME, the court ruled that public sector unions can no longer collect money from non-members covered by collective agreements. This decision could potentially weaken teacher unions by depriving them of money.

Many researchers predicted after the Janus decision that there would be more militant organization, including more strikes. Indeed, unions may feel compelled to prove their value to potential members, as the strength of bargaining agreements – which tend to include costly strike sanctions – erodes with the power of unions.

In Los Angeles, educators received pay increases, smaller classes and more support staff. Denver teachers got better salaries and modifications to their controversial bonus system.

District-level districts have remained in a difficult position to meet the demands of teachers. During the Los Angeles strike, for example, district chiefs blamed the state for its funding problems. School district funding comes from complex and changing combinations of local, state and federal sources. In California, student funding is well below the national average.

At the end of the strike in Denver, Superintendent Susana Cordova said: "We are in the situation where we are because of the lack of willingness and the lack of collaboration of the states to invest in our schools," reported the public radio Colorado. .

Charter schools are also part of history.

Teachers in two Chicago-based charter school networks went on strike to demand better pay and smaller classes.

Meanwhile, public school teachers have long claimed that the charters siphoned off public funds and did not serve all students. In Oakland and Los Angeles, teachers are demanding more restrictions for these schools.

Educators in West Virginia have left work for two days this week to protest a bill that was introduced in the state house and could have introduced charter schools in the state. Lawmakers actually killed the bill on Tuesday and union leaders canceled the strike Wednesday night after the legislators had time to reconsider the measure.

How do teachers organize?

Much of last year's walkouts occurred in states where the right to work is active, where unions are smaller and weaker. Grassroots groups have joined unions to plan strikes and walkouts.

Districtwide strikes this year have been led by local unions such as United Teachers Los Angeles, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and the Oakland Education Association.

Both unions and grassroots groups have relied on social media to coordinate. The slogan #RedforEd It was widespread last year and has resumed most beautifully in Denver, Los Angeles and Oakland.

Put strikes in a political context

Is this movement partisan? Widely, if not entirely.

Picketing teachers have often, although not always, confronted Republican lawmakers. In Colorado and Arizona, for example, Republican lawmakers introduced bills considered a direct retaliation against strikers: incarcerating teachers guilty of firing them or punishing those who discuss politics in the classroom. Last spring, Kentucky teachers left their classrooms. Gov. Matt Bevin, Republican, told reporters, "I guarantee you that somewhere in Kentucky, a child was sexually assaulted and was left home because there was no one to watch them. "He later apologized. Republican Mary Fallin, then governor of Oklahoma, told CBS News last year that striking teachers were "a bit like having a teenager who wants a better car".

Meanwhile, the Conservatives announced the Janus This decision is a victory for the "individual rights of teachers" as well as "the lesser ability of unions to block educational reform in general," said Lindsey Burke of the Heritage Heritage Conservancy Foundation last spring.

Some scholars say the teachers on strike correspond to the profile of a larger movement within the Democratic Party.

Dozens of teachers ran for national elections in mid-term, mostly on Democratic tickets, according to an analysis by Week of education. Jahana Hayes, National Teacher of the Year 2016, became the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Connecticut Congress, on a progressive and child-centered platform.

Democratic presidential candidates, in particular, provide support to teachers on strike. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) tweeted in January:

This is a big change from the Obama era, while many Democrats supported charter schools, testing, and accountability.

President Trump, meanwhile, has expressed his support for the choice of school in his recent speech on the state of the Union. He has not talked much about the disengagement of teachers or the conditions in which they work.

But education raises problems that divide parties.

While teachers were protesting in West Virginia this week, Republican Gov. Jim Justice told reporters: "I've always said I'm not a supporter and supporter of charter schools, period." A bill presented to the state house on his behalf would provide for a salary increase for state employees, including teachers.