Russian left website “Bulletin of the Storm” on the West Virginia education workers’ strike:
In the USA, again, there is a stir: for more than a week the teachers of West Virginia have been on strike because of small salaries. All 680 state schools are closed. About 250,000 children are at home and are waiting for a resolution of the conflict between the authorities and the trade unions.
According to the local teachers’ unions, the average salary of a teacher in West Virginia is 44,701 dollars per year. This is the smallest salary of a teacher in the United States.
Governor Jim Justice has already signed a decree to increase the teacher’s salary by 2 percent next year and 1 percent in the next two years. But, according to protesters, this increase does not cover life and insurance costs. They require another bill.
Officials, as usual, look for excuses and delay a decision. Therefore, on Monday, people came to the capitol to exert pressure on local legislators.
Whatever the outcome of the protest campaign, we admire the solidarity of these people. Capitalist America is far from being considered a society of the future. But the future society, probably, will consist precisely of such workers: Organized, conscious and active.
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