URGENT UPDATE:
The state-wide strike by more than 30,000 West Virginia teachers and school employees is continuing Thursday, with workers rejecting an agreement announced Tuesday by the trade unions and the state’s billionaire governor, Jim Justice.
Thousands of teachers descended on the state capitol Wednesday—a day designated by the unions as a “cooling off” period—chanting “We got sold out,” “It’s not over,” “Where’s the union?” and “We’re not leaving.”
The continuation of the strike is a devastating repudiation of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia (AFT-WV) and the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA), which hailed the agreement with Justice as a major victory for teachers.
Teachers and public workers who spoke to the WSWS this evening expressed a mood of opposition and defiance.
Rikki, a young West Virginia state worker, told the WSWS, “Do not think they [the teachers] are accepting this. Teachers are saying they are not going back until they have something in writing. People are very angry. This has inspired the teachers in Kentucky to oppose their conditions. I think you have the beginning of a movement taking place.”
A full report on this major development will appear on wsws.org within two hours. Full coverage of the struggle can be found here.
The Socialist Equality Party calls for the mobilization of all workers and youth to support striking West Virginia teachers. Teachers are determined to fight, but they cannot wage this battle on their own! They confront not only the Democratic and Republican politicians, but also the trade unions, which are doing everything they can to shut down the strike and impose a defeat.
The WSWS calls on workers and students to organize meetings to discuss immediate measures to assist teachers and prevent any effort to victimize or fire them.
Here are things you can do now:
Sincerely,
The Socialist Equality Party |
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