2018 Oklahoma teachers' strike

Last updated
2018 Oklahoma teachers' Walkout
Part of the 2018–19 education workers' strikes in the United States
DateApril 2, 2018 (2018-04-02)– April 12, 2018 (2018-04-12)
Location
Oklahoma
Caused by
  • Ongoing education cuts
Goals
  • $10,000 salary raise for teachers
  • $1,250 salary raise for support staff
Methods
Resulted in
  • $6,000 salary raise for teachers
  • $1,250 salary raise for support staff
  • Increased public school funding through tobacco & other taxes
Parties
Oklahoma Education Association
Lead figures

Alicia Priest

The 2018 Oklahoma teachers' walkout began on April 2, 2018, with teachers across the state walking out to protest low pay, overcrowded classrooms, and tax cuts that resulted in lower state-wide education spending. It was the first such action in Oklahoma since 1990. [1] The OEA declared an end to the walkout on April 12 after an agreement to increase salaries and state funding for education was reached. The call to end the walkout faced some objection from teachers and parents who did not believe that enough concessions were made by lawmakers. [2]

Contents

Unlike the similar action in West Virginia, the walkout was not a "wildcat" strike, as it received endorsement from union leadership, albeit only after pressure from teachers. [3] The protest occurred concurrently with similar protests in Arizona, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Colorado. [4]

Background

State of public education in Oklahoma

Since 2008, education spending per student in Oklahoma has fallen 28%. [5] Due to the decrease in funding, twenty percent of schools run on four-day weeks, and many have eliminated art and language classes and shut down sports programs. [6] Gains from last teachers' strike in Oklahoma, in 1990, which resulted in an agreement to lower class sizes, expand kindergarten programs, and increase teacher wages were later reversed due to budget cuts. [6] The decline in funding and subsequent decline in the quality of public education has resulted in the expansion of charter schools in the state. [6]

Plans for a Walkout

In 2016, State Question 779 was placed on the ballot, but failed to gain enough votes. SQ 779 proposed a one cent increase in sales tax and was estimated to bring in $615 million for education funding (including educator pay raises) in its first year. Failure of SQ 779 left many educators frustrated. Support for a strike began to build in early March 2018, after another proposal (dubbed the "Step Up" plan) failed to pass the required 75% threshold for tax increases. The "Step Up" plan would have increased certain taxes and boosted teacher pay by $5,000. [1] Both Democrats and Republicans voted for and against the bill. Some Democrats who voted "no" believed the plan did not go far enough to restore funding.

Plans for a strike beginning on April 2 were first floated in March. On April 2, schools throughout Oklahoma were scheduled to take standardized tests; preventing these tests from taking place could potentially jeopardize millions in federal funds allocated to Oklahoma. [1] After the Oklahoma legislature passed a tax increase to fund teach pay raises with the required 75% in each body on Friday, March 30, a strike beginning on the 2nd was announced. Thus, even before the walkout, teachers won greater school funding and salary increases, funded in part by increases in the cigarette tax, motor fuel tax, and the gross production tax on petroleum. [7]

Walkout

The strike lasted from April 2 to April 12. [8] [9] Strike leaders had called for the introduction of a capital gains tax to avoid a regressive tax, but the terms were nevertheless accepted. [10] The legislature passed no further tax increases after the walkout began.

Salary demands

Public school teacher salaries in Oklahoma prior to the strike were the third lowest in the United States (after South Dakota and Mississippi), resulting in some teachers and staffers working second or third jobs. [3] [6] [11] An initial offer of a $6,000 wage increase, ratified by the governor, was rejected, as the initial demands were for a $10,000 raise for teachers and a $1250 raise for support staff. [12]

Reactions from state officials

Governor Mary Fallin likened teacher demands to "...teenager(s) wanting a better car". [13] The quote was appropriated by teachers and used in chants during protests at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

State representative Kevin McDugle, a Republican, indicated he would not pass any bill or measure to increase education spending due to the protests undertaken by the teachers. [14]

Results

A survey in 2019 found that the pay raise obtained by the strike had lifted the State's teacher pay ranking to 34th in the nation, higher than the surrounding states of New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, but still lower than Colorado or Texas. [15]

Ten Republican representatives who were opposed to raising taxes to increase teacher salaries were up for re-election in 2018. Two, Scott McEachin and Chuck Strohm, were eliminated by other Republican nominees during the initial primary, while a further seven did not gain enough votes to win their primaries uncontested. [16] These seven faced runoff elections in August 2018, and six lost.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Public Schools</span> Public school system of the municipal government of Chicago, Illinois

Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the fourth-largest school district in the United States, after New York, Los Angeles, and Miami-Dade County. For the 2023–24 school year, CPS reported overseeing 634 schools, including 477 elementary schools and 157 high schools; of which 514 were district-run, 111 were charter schools, 7 were contract schools and 2 were SAFE schools. The district serves 323,251 students. Chicago Public School students attend a particular school based on their area of residence, except for charter, magnet, and selective enrollment schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Fallin</span> American politician (born 1954)

Mary Fallin is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She is the first and only woman to be elected governor of Oklahoma. She was the first woman to represent Oklahoma in Congress since Alice Mary Robertson left office in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Education Association</span>

The Florida Education Association (FEA) is a statewide federation of teacher and education workers' labor unions in the US state of Florida. Its 145,000 members make it the largest union in the state. It is a merged affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), and is a member of the AFL–CIO.

The Florida statewide teachers' strike of 1968 was a strike action in the US state of Florida in February and March 1968 by teachers and other education workers belonging to the Florida Education Association (FEA). The cause of the strike was under-funding of the state's educational system at a time when attendance was rising sharply, combined with low pay and benefits for teachers. The strike lasted from a few days in some school districts to three months in others. Although a special session of the Florida Legislature approved higher taxes to pay for more school funding, FEA members felt the funding hikes were not enough and voted to continue striking. No additional funding was forthcoming, however, and most local affiliates of the FEA settled their contracts and went back to work by the end of March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Teachers Union</span> US trade union

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has advocated for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, and it has opposed efforts to vary teacher pay based on performance evaluations. It also called for improvements in the Chicago schools, and asserts that its activities benefit students as well as teachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Department of Education</span> State agency

Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is a state-level department tasked in Arizona with oversight of public education from kindergarten to secondary school. The ADE is run by an elected Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Cogen</span>

Charles Cogen was president of New York City's United Federation of Teachers (UFT) (1960–1964) and subsequently, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) (1964–1968). During Cogen's tenure the teachers' union demonstrated a militancy that had not previously been apparent, and was at odds with the image of the teacher as quiet civil servant. That strikes were technically illegal under the state's Condon-Wadlin Act did not deter Cogen from leading citywide walkouts that resulted in significant economic and professional advances for those he represented. To those who argued that striking teachers set a poor example for students, Cogen responded that such teachers were models of courageous citizenship. Similarly, Cogen scoffed at efforts to characterize teacher walkouts as subverting the public interest: "Who is to say what the public interest is?"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Toma</span> American politician (born 1979)

Benjamin Cornel Toma is a Romanian-American politician serving as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 27th district. Elected in November 2016, he assumed office in January 2017. He was selected to be Speaker of the House in 2022, taking office in 2023. From 2021 to 2023, Toma served as majority leader of the Arizona House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 West Virginia teachers' strike</span> Labor dispute in West Virginia, United States

The West Virginia teachers' and school personnel strike began on February 22, 2018, with a call from the West Virginia branches of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, and the West Virginia School Service Personnel for school employees across West Virginia to strike. The strike, called in response to anger among teachers and other school employees over low pay and high health care costs, involved roughly 20,000 teachers and public school employees and shut down schools in all 55 West Virginia counties, affecting some 250,000 students. It lasted until March 7, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">56th Oklahoma Legislature</span>

The Fifty-sixth Oklahoma Legislature was the most recent meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from January 3, 2017, to January 3, 2019, during the final two years of the second administration of Governor Mary Fallin. The November 2016 elections maintained Republican control of both the House and Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Arizona teachers' strike</span> 2018 strike in the United States

The 2018 Arizona teachers' strike was held from April 26–May 3, 2018, by 20,000 teachers to protest low pay and cuts to school funding. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey had approved a proposal giving a 20 percent raise to teachers by 2020, with a 9 percent raise in 2019; teachers rejected this proposal as it did not provide increased funding for schools themselves or raises for support staff. It coincided with a similar strike in neighboring Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–2019 education workers' strikes in the United States</span> Withdrawal of labor by US teachers, 2018

The 2018–2019 education workers' strikes in the United States began on February 22, 2018, after local activists compelled the West Virginia state leadership of the West Virginia branches of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association into holding a strike vote. The strike—which ended when teachers returned to their classrooms on March 7—inspired similar, statewide strikes in Oklahoma and Arizona. It also inspired smaller-scale protests by school staff in Kentucky, North Carolina, Colorado, and led to a school bus driver strike in Georgia. Additionally, around this time, adjunct professors at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia protested over pay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Colorado teachers' strike</span> Colorado teachers withdrawal of labor, 2018

The 2018 Colorado teachers' strike was a two and a half week strike that began on April 27, 2018, with teachers in some districts across the state walking out to protest low pay, low state-wide education spending, and mismanagement of the state teachers' pension. The strike ended on May 12, 2018 with an agreement between the teachers' union and school officials for a 2 percent pay raise. The strike was part of the larger wave of teachers' strikes in the United States where protests occurred in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona.

The 2018 North Carolina teachers' rally was a rally and protest on May 16, 2018, with teachers in North Carolina walking out in protest of deflating wages and decreased employee benefits.

Jeff Coody is an American politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 63rd district from 2014 to 2018.

The 2019 Virginia teachers' walkout is a teachers' walkout and protest that began on January 28, 2019, with teachers in Virginia walking out in protest of low school budgets and low teacher wages outside of Northern Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Chicago Public Schools strike</span> Labor strike

The 2019 Chicago Public Schools strike was a labor dispute between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union Local 73 that lasted 14 days. The strike began on October 17, 2019, when both unions failed to reach a contract agreement with Chicago Public Schools over compensation, benefits, staffing, wrap-around services such as counselors, nurses, and librarians, and caps on class sizes. On October 31, the strike officially ended when the mayor and the Chicago Teachers Union reached a tentative agreement allowing students to go back to class on November 1, 2019. The agreement included millions of dollars dedicated to reducing class sizes, hundreds more social workers, nurses and librarians, and a 16 percent salary increase over the coming five years, but did not achieve all the main goals of the unions.

Bruce Alan Cozart is an American politician and businessman who has been a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives since 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Ontario teachers' strike</span> Province-wide walkout by Ontario teachers

The 1997 Ontario teachers' strike was a labour dispute between the government of Ontario under Premier Mike Harris of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PCs), and the Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF) and its member labour unions. The strike occurred in the context of Harris' Common Sense Revolution, a program of deficit reduction characterized by cuts to education and social services. In September 1997, the PCs introduced Bill 160, which sought to reduce education spending and transfer numerous aspects of school administration from local school boards to the provincial government. In response, teachers participated in a province-wide walkout beginning on October 27, 1997.

From 1968 to 2012 at least 839 teacher strikes have occurred in the US. 740 of these have been in Pennsylvania. Teacher strikes and walkouts have since increased in popularity outside of Pennsylvania due to the Red for Ed movement in 2018-19.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cohen, Rachel (6 March 2018). "TEACHER UNREST SPREADS TO OKLAHOMA, WHERE EDUCATORS ARE "DESPERATE FOR A SOLUTION"". The Intercept. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "US: Arizona teachers vote for first-ever statewide strike". Al Jazeera. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 Eidelson, Josh (2 April 2018). "Teacher Strikes Are Spreading Across America With No End in Sight". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Pearce, Matt (2 April 2018). "Red-state revolt continues: Teachers strike in Oklahoma and protest in Kentucky". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  5. ↑ DenHoed, Andrea (4 April 2018). "Striking Oklahoma Teachers Win Historic School-Funding Increase and Keep On Marching". The New Yorker. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Blanc, Eric (30 March 2018). "It's Oklahoma's Turn to Strike". Jacobin. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Your state taxes go up on Sunday, and that's good". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ Blanc, Eric (13 April 2018). "Red Oklahoma". Jacobin. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  9. ↑ Goldstein, Dana (12 April 2018). "Oklahoma Teachers End Walkout After Winning Raises and Additional Funding". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  10. ↑ Chang, Clio (13 April 2018). "Teachers Win Again in Oklahoma as Strike Ends". Splinter. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Are Oklahoma teachers the lowest paid? Nearly". www.politifact.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ Osberg, Molly (2 April 2018). "Oklahoma Is the Latest Red State Where Teachers Are Rising Up". Splinter. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. ↑ Gstalter, Morgan (5 April 2018). "Oklahoma teachers jingle keys, chant 'Where's my car?' at governor". The Hill. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Resnick, Gideon (April 4, 2018). "Republican Bashed Teachers. So a Teacher Runs Against Him". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Teacher pay raise boosts Oklahoma to 34th in nation, new rankings find". Andrea Eger, Tulsa World, April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  16. ↑ Jilani, Zaid (29 August 2018). "IN OKLAHOMA AND ARIZONA, PRIMARY VOTERS REWARDED CANDIDATES WHO STOOD WITH TEACHERS". The Intercept. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.