How “illegal” teacher strikes rescued the American labor movement

Propelled by low pay and dwindling resources for students, teachers in at least seven other states followed West Virginia’s lead before the end of 2018 — many of them red states, like Kentucky and Oklahoma, where teacher strikes are outlawed. “One reason we’ve seen large numbers of teachers involved in strikes is that they occurred in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, or Oklahoma, where teachers lack the right to bargain collectively and could only negotiate with the legislature,” said William P. Jones, a labor historian at the University of Minnesota. Hundreds of schools in Kentucky cancelled classes late last month after teachers called out sick to protest another pension bill, and West Virginia teachers went on strike in February to kill a bill that would introduce charter schools into the state.

Source: news.vice.com