Portside

By all accounts, the strike is a bottom-up rebellion. It was organized by rank-and-file teachers, with state teachers’ unions scrambling to catch up.

We must get the language right. In reality, this was a strike and movement organized outside the union apparatus. This strike took shape as it did because the existing unions had neither the credibility nor legal authority to represent the workers.  West Virginia teachers and school workers have no collective bargaining, nor the right to strike.

The Labor Movement Should Follow Their Lead.

Teachers and public employees have been demonstrating for weeks, including a massive all-day protest at the Capitol on Friday, asking lawmakers to fully fund the Public Employees Insurance Agency and increase pay.