West Virginia teachers stayed out on strike on Monday—and flooded the state capitol—as the state Senate dragged its feet on voting the teachers the five percent raise agreed to by Gov. Jim Justice and approved by the state House. The Senate is insisting on a four percent raise instead. The teachers also remain deeply concerned about their health insurance, an issue for which no long-term fix has even been proposed.
The teachers are getting support from many sources—pizza from the San Francisco teachers union, and a GoFundMe that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, CNN reports:
The WV Teachers Strike Support Fund, started by citizens and not sponsored by unions, is designed to help "teachers and school service personnel who are taking on great personal cost to organize and support their families during the strike."
The fund said it doesn't expect to collect enough money to supplement lost salary or wages, but aims to help meet needs.
Crowdfunding and the teachers and other school staffers are helping students while schools are closed, too:
In a state with a 17.9 percent poverty rate, teachers, bus drivers and other volunteers are collecting food and helping to distribute it to students who rely on free breakfasts and lunches at school. Teachers were sharing stories about how they've donated their time, their own money or their own food for that cause. At least two GoFundMe pages have been launched in support of the walkout.
"It does make you feel good because we are helping them," said Ann Osburn, a special education teacher at Buckhannon Academy. "I think we're reaching as many as we can. We're getting as much help out there as we can for those kids."
Meanwhile, teachers in Oklahoma may strike soon, and Frontier Communications workers in West Virginia and Virginia are on strike.