WV teachers at the State Capitol

Dear Friends, ……. Date: March 4, 2018

There’s a revolution happening here in West Virginia. I’ve been fighting for working families in West Virginia my entire life.

For the last 10 days, we’ve been standing arm-in-arm with the teachers and support personnel who have been on strike in all 55 counties of our state. They seek only what all workers deserve: dignity and respect. And right now, that means a living wage and stable health care premiums.

We’ve been livestreaming daily massive protests at the state Capitol and doing all we can to support the courageous teachers who’ve been standing up to threats, standing strong for what’s right, and who are changing the political landscape in West Virginia before our eyes.

The situation for our teachers and support personnel in West Virginia is bad.

Our state is ranked 48th in the nation for teacher pay. More than 700 teaching positions remain open, because the pay and benefits are so low. And because the state legislature has failed to fully fund the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), teachers in West Virginia have seen their premiums and deductibles skyrocket.

West Virginia doesn’t recognize the right of public employees to bargain collectively. When they walked out, these workers opened themselves up to great risk for themselves and their families.

I remember standing on the line with my mom and her colleagues, and my teachers and friends’ parents, back in 1990, the last time West Virginia teachers went on a statewide strike. It was my first lesson in solidarity and standing up for what’s right. It’s why I continue to stand with our teachers and public employees during this current crisis.

Our teachers are joining a fight for the soul of West Virginia that started a century ago, when coal miners fought and died for the right to unionize. Now these striking teachers have captured the attention of the nation, and are serving as an inspiration for public workers and teachers around the country.

This has been a truly been a grassroots-driven movement, and I have no doubt that it will change West Virginia for the better. One of the most powerful outcomes has been how emboldened people have become, realizing that direct action produces results. We are already actively identifying and recruiting new leaders across the state.

After our governor and union leaders announced a hastily made deal last week that was heavy on promises, teachers came back to the Capitol angrier than ever. We want to make sure they have the support they need to keep up the fight for as long as it takes.

In Solidarity, Ryan Frankenberry,
State Director, WV Working Families Party

>> See also the Jacobin article by WVWFP co-chair Cathy Kunkel on how we are working to transform West Virginia politics. And follow the hashtag #55strong.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

LETTER: What are we willing to pay?

Letter to the Washington PA Observer-Reporter, March 4, 2018

What are we willing to pay? What are we willing to pay to be safe and prosperous?

In real budget terms, how much are we willing to pay for being safe? How much more in taxes are we willing to pay to improve school safety?

How much more are we willing to pay for better roads?

How much more for better jobs? Would you pay to have an industry bring in new jobs?

Each month as I do my monthly budget, I wonder what these things cost. So I began look at some simple things.

According to studies done in the last few years, citizens never break even, or receive any benefit, on many of these issues. Corporate giveaway projects, like stadiums or attracting industry, fail to bring the benefits touted by elected officials.

This is not new. Let’s take the coal industry, for example. Some studies indicate Pennsylvania citizens never received a fair share from coal being removed and sold to the world. The Marcellus Shale industry looks the same. The question might be, should the commonwealth’s citizens receive some benefits from folks that extract our resources, or our work effort? Yes, a small group of folks do get paid big for this, but is that enough to balance the cost of schools or infrastructure?

As I write a bigger check to pay my school taxes because the state has trimmed its education budget, or ride down the road and break a tire hitting a pothole caused by a 40-ton water truck, I am angry.

We have the second-largest state government in the U.S., and as far as I can see our state motto should be, “Bring money, we will sell anything.”

John Andrews, Jefferson, Greene County, PA