Soaring healthcare costs drove West Virginia teachers to go on their (possibly illegal) statewide strike

By Matt Pearce
Mar 02, 2018 |

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For seven straight school days, a massive teachers strike has gripped every county in West Virginia, with teachers setting up picket lines on public roads and thronging the capitol to holler at state lawmakers. ... And with lawmakers unable to reach a deal on a compensation package Friday, the strike is likely to extend into next week, raising the stakes on all sides to resolve an unpredictable work stoppage that leaves thousands of children at home each day.

"I call it the 'West Virginia Spring.' Spring is here in West Virginia," said Democratic state Sen. John Unger, comparing the protests to the Arab Spring protests of 2011. "This is truly a citizens' movement," not led by lawmakers or labor leaders, Unger added. "We're not leading it. What we're doing is we're going along with it."

The teachers, as public employees, technically have no right to strike in West Virginia, according to state Supreme Court precedent, and the state's attorney general has called the walkouts "unlawful." ... But the educators said they have been driven to the brink by low pay that has left many educators seeking second jobs or other careers, or other states, entirely.

In West Virginia, teachers and other state employees receive health coverage through the Public Employees Insurance Agency. ... The state program is funded 80% by employers and 20% by employees. That means as healthcare costs continue to rise significantly, the program's long-term solvency requires "significant revenue increases in employer and employee premiums" over the next five years, according to an October 2017 financial report prepared for PEIA.
In other words, employees are going to need to pay up.