Posted on 02/18/2018 3:44:54 AM PST by buckalfa
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There will be no public school next Thursday or Friday anywhere in West Virginia. Whether classes resume on Monday remained up in the air. The West Virginia teachers unions and service personnel organizations all agreed to authorize the first ever walkout in all 55 counties of teachers and service personnel.
“We’re done. We’re done waiting. We waited and have given them chances and they didn’t want to take it seriously,” said Teacher Christiana Frye of Cabell Midland High School. “Honestly I’m praying two days is enough because some people can’t afford to be out longer than that, but the way they’ve treated us so far I don’t know that it will.”
Cathy Pizzino, a teacher at Robert C. Byrd High School in Clarksburg was dug in for whatever it takes.
“We’ll be out a whole hell of a lot longer than two days,” she said. “I’m ready for 20, 30 whatever it is. I told my kids, it’s going to be a long haul.”
Thousands of teachers stood more than two hours in a cold and driving rain on Saturday, covering the Lincoln Plaza of the State Capitol. There, they pledged solidarity and believe the work stoppage will be the pressure needed to get improvements. The teachers agreed pay was an issue, but by no means the only issue.
“It’s the PEIA, it’s the wanting to take our seniority, it’s allowing uncertified teachers to come in and teach our classes,” said Donna Roberts who teaches at Sherman Elementary in Boone County. “It’s about a whole lot more than a paycheck.”
“I don’t think it’s fair that my benefits are determined by my husband’s or my family’s total income,” added Brenda Bolyard a teacher in Taylor County. “It’s ridiculous.”
While most agree the work stoppage is necessary, they also agreed it was worrisome to know students will not be in school those days.
“It’s not anything we want to do,” Roberts added. “But when we’re facing not being able to pay our bills month to month, we have to do something.”
“I actually have two children in the school system myself and even if I wasn’t a teacher, I’d be right there with their teachers,” said Frye. “They are helping to shape my children’s future and we are worried about the students.”
Although a strike by public employees in is illegal, West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee indicated on MetroNews Talkline it isn’t something the union considered a factor.
“What are they going to do, fire 15,000 people?” Lee rhetorically asked when questioned about the legality of the work stoppage.
Yes, that's exactly what Gov. Justice should do. There should be absolutely no government sector unions, period.
It ain’t just WV. The teacher’s union infects just about all the country.
Perfect time to enact school vouchers.
I think something similar was said by the head of the air-traffic control union head when they went on strike.
“What are they going to do, fire 15,000 people?”
That’s the attitude the Air Traffic Controllers Union had under Reagan. His firing of them anyway shaped the greatness of his presidency, and his resolute response gave pause to the Soviets.
DO IT, Governor. Trump will have your back. There are a LOT of qualified teachers across the country, who would love to teach in school systems which are 93% white.
Bingo!
Less time to indoctrinate them in leftist dogma? That sounds good to me!
Yes, that’s exactly what Gov. Justice should do. There should be absolutely no government sector unions, period.
____________________________________
You are right, take the Reagan air traffic controller approach. Fire the whole lot of them and hire non-union teachers who respect law and order and who are patriotic Americans.
Beat me to it.
Many good people are teachers. But Government Schools are inherently bad. The states need vouchers to allow parents to find good schools with good people working as teachers.
Schools no longer teach - they preach.
They teach hatred of: Whites, men, straights, wealthy people and deify anti-societal persons and behaviors.
Education bleeds a state financially and harms its children - FIRE 'EM ALL!
~Ex-teacher.
She told us kids that she did it because government unions would eventually destroy a nation.
I was too young to comprehend but now see it all around - the public servants have become public masters.
And the people preparing to strike don’t give a tinker’so dam that WV taxpayers ain’t made of money. Public service to those folks means the public is there to serve THEM.
According to the Census ACS 1-year survey, the median household income for West Virginia was $43,385 in 2016, the latest figures available. Compared to the median US household income, West Virginia median household income is $14,232 lower.
And public employees don’t care. Fork it over anyway, taxpayers. Just sucks to be you.
Wonder how much this has to do with locking in a contract before SCOTUS rules...
Well, Ronald Reagan fired 13,000 PATCO union members in 1981. So, keep your eyes open.
Yes we know and that is a problem.
iInside a horrifying social justice factory
http://www.wnd.com/2018/02/inside-a-horrifying-social-justice-factory/print/
I retired from the public school system in Illinois seven years ago. I have never been a big union guy, but after nearly 30 years in the system, I believe that something has to be available to protect all school employees.
Every time a Superintendent, principal or even a department chair is changed in a PS district, peoples heads roll simply to accommodate the new executive's personnel wishes.
That's a lousy way to run a school.
I can appreciate a lot of the complaining centered around union protection of poor performance and incompetence, but for entire schools or departments being turned over because a new Superintendent or Physical Plant Director wants "his people" working for him isn't the way to go.
The way these "Executives" move around, a career teacher or other regular employee would have little chance of completing a career in any public school today.
Welcome to the private sector, pard.
Honestly I’m praying two days is enough because some people can’t afford to be out longer than that, but the way they’ve treated us so far I don’t know that it will.
The school system can now drag this out for awhile until the employees give in.
Of course that would be true in the private sector. In the public sector it does not work that way. Elected officials do not care about how much money something will cost but instead how many votes will they gain or lose.
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