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Oklahoma Teachers Win Pay Raise, But Say Strike Will Proceed to Challenge "Decade of Neglect"

posted by martyb on Friday March 30 2018, @12:27PM   
from the increasing-cost-of-living dept.

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Common Dreams reports

Teachers in Oklahoma applauded the state Senate's passage of a $447 million bill to fund educators' first raise in a decade by raising taxes on oil and gas production as well as cigarettes and fuel--but warned that the plan is not enough to keep them from striking.

The proposal was approved in a 36-10 vote on Wednesday night [March 28] after weeks of speculation that teachers would stage a walkout beginning April 2 to demand salary increases as well as more funding for their overcrowded schools--where teachers are frequently forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.

"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect", said Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) President Alicia Priest in a press release.[1] "Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students."

The mobilization by teachers in Oklahoma follows a multi-day strike in West Virginia earlier this month during which educators and school employees also occupied the state capitol to demand raises and a permanent funding solution for their health insurance program. The West Virginia strike kept the state's schools closed for nine consecutive school days and continued after lawmakers passed a one-time five percent raise, with teachers insisting that all their demands be met.

[...] "This package doesn't overcome shortfall caused by four-day weeks, overcrowded classrooms that deprive kids of the one-on-one attention they need. It's not enough", Priest said. "We must continue to push for more annual funding for our schools to reduce class size and restore more of the 28 percent of funds they cut from education over the last decade."

[1] Content is behind scripts.

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Original Submission

• Re:Bad precedent? Re:Bad precedent? (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @02:37PM (3 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @02:37PM (#660379)

  > gt; We're going to strike unless our demands our met!
  < < Okay, we'll meet your demands!
  > gt; Well, you've been pissing us off for a long time, so we're going to strike anyway!

  That's how Pravda is no doubt presenting it. Teacher unions seek rotten deal as momentum grows for April 2 statewide walkout in Oklahoma [wsws.org]:

  The determination of the unions to impose a sellout deal was demonstrated by the raising of a series of inadequate demands. The plan, which spreads increases over three years, calls for $10,000 in teacher raises; $5,000 for support professionals, and $200 million for schools for operational costs such as textbooks, transportation and additional teachers.

  Note that's what the union is pushing, which the teacher think is insufficient. The unions are working for the elites to try to stifle worker discontent with stagnant wages and spiraling healthcare costs (only spiraling because of our insurance-industrial complex).

  Oklahoma teachers reject funding bill, prepare to strike [wsws.org]:

  Oklahoma teachers have reacted with disgust and anger over the pay offer and the school-funding bill signed into law by Republican Governor Mary Fallin Thursday afternoon. Teachers are preparing for a statewide strike by over 40,000 educators on Monday, April 2.

  While the governor praised the bipartisan deal for giving teachers the “largest raise in Oklahoma history,” the one-time increase of between $5,000 to $7,000, depending on years of service, will do little for teachers who are ranked 49th in the nation in pay. Teachers have not had a raise in a decade even as they have borne higher out-of-pocket costs for health care and pensions.

  So even here, the pay increase isn't even meeting what the union wanted to settle for.

  While claiming there were no resources for public education, let alone pay raises, the Democrats and Republicans over the last decade have handed billions of dollars in tax breaks to the state’s energy corporations.

  Arizona teachers protest as Oklahoma educators battle union sabotage [wsws.org]:

  Last week, the OEA and OFT put forward a “roadmap” to Republican Governor Mary Fallin and the state legislature to prevent the strike, which called for a $10,000 raise over three years. This would be paid for largely through regressive consumption taxes that would hit working-class residents the hardest, combined with a small increase in taxes on the oil and gas industry.

  On Wednesday night, the State Senate voted 36-10 to back a bill passed by the State House of Representatives earlier in the week by a 79-19 margin. The bill only provides a one-time $6,000 raise and does nothing to reverse the decades-long school funding cuts, which have led to larger class sizes, fewer supplies and four-day class schedules in some districts.

  I also want to point out that the protest was organized through Facebook. That is the main reason Facebook has fallen out of favor with the establishment. It really has so little to do with SJWs and identity politics. In fact, it's because identity politics is failing to keep the masses placated that we see the push for internet censorship.

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• Re:Bad precedent? Re:Bad precedent? (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @03:42PM (2 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @03:42PM (#660407)

  OriginalLoser forgot to sign his post. No one else here cites wswswswswswswswsws

  Parent

  • Re:Bad precedent? Re:Bad precedent? (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @04:21PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @04:21PM (#660421)

    Well, you've now got somebody else who does, but I admit that Original Gewg_ is who turned me on to WSWS. I read WSWS daily now.

    Parent

    • ''I read WSWS daily now'' (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @07:56PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @07:56PM (#660506)

      You can find viewpoints there that you won't see anywhere else.

      I'm especially fond of the way they repeatedly call e.g. The International Socialist Organization (socialistworker.org) and Workers World Party (workers.org) "pseudo-Left" when those guys e.g. praise crappy deals that union officials have accepted followed by a back-to-work order for the rank and file.

      -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

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