How to Help Teachers Win Better Pay 📝
Snow day for everyone!
Over the past few weeks, teachers across the country have walked off the job for better salaries, benefits, and school funding.
Some of their students have even forgiven all those pop quizzes and joined the teachers in solidarity.
This all started when teachers in West Virginia went on strike back in February.
The movement has since spread to states like Kentucky and Oklahoma, where (like in West Virginia) teacher strikes are illegal.
West Virginia teachers struck anyway. Kentucky and Oklahoma teachers have instead simply walked out.
It's been a particularly wild week in Oklahoma, where teachers have basically taken over the statehouse.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin did her part to extend the protest when she compared teachers to "a teenage kid that wants a better car."
How to help pay teachers what they're worth (they're teaching your kids after all :)
Learn more about why teachers are walking off the job, via this explainer from the New York Times.
Check out how your state pays teachers. Hint: West Virginia and Oklahoma rank among the lowest teacher salaries, at 48th and 49th on the list respectively.
Follow the hashtags #OKwalk4kikds, #55Strong, and #120Strong (there are 55 counties in West Virginia and 120 counties in Kentucky).
Are you in Oklahoma?
- Join 64,000+ educators putting plans together in the Oklahoma Teacher Walkout Facebook group.
- Join the protest in the rotunda of the State Capitol. The Oklahoma Teacher Association's Stand With Teachers website has all the details about when and where to show up.
- Donate to buy lunch for the protesters.
- Use this tool to call lawmakers and urge passage of bills that would double funding for schools.
Are you in Kentucky?
- Get updates on upcoming protests, as well as teachers' plans to challenge opponents of public education on the November ballot.
- Call Governor Matt Bevin at 502.564.2611 to urge him to veto SB 151, which would slash teacher pensions.
Are you in Arizona?
