The Teachers Revolt in West Virginia<br />“It’s hard to characterize the surprise that many of us felt who have studied the labor movement<br />in this state,” said Ken Fones-Wolf, a labor historian at West Virginia University.<br />Nevertheless, in a revival of West Virginia’s long-dormant tradition of bold labor activism, teachers<br />and some other school employees in all of the state’s 55 counties are refusing to return to work until lawmakers give them a 5 percent raise, and commit to addressing their rapidly rising health insurance premiums.<br />In the past, solid health care benefits helped make up for low wages, but because West Virginia hasn’t been putting enough money into the state agency<br />that insures public employees, premiums and co-payments have been increasing significantly.
