A Striking History: The Importance of Unionization in West Virginia’s History
In late February of 2018, the teachers of the state of West Virginia went on strike, shutting down schools in all 55 of the state’s counties and leaving more than 250,000 students out of school. This came in wake of the West Virginia state legislature announcing a pay increase to the teachers of one percent, which was met with frustration by most teachers as West Virginia’s teachers’ salaries rank 48th in the country (Hauser). Teachers took to the state capital to protest, and, after nine days the state legislature signed a bill that would increase teachers’ pay by five percent, the original demands of the teachers (“Students in West Virginia”). The success of this strike even led to strikes in other states. For example, teachers in Oklahoma were inspired to strike just a few days after the teachers strike in West Virginia (“Is the West Virginia teachers’ strike”).
This strike is not the first in the history of West Virginia. In the early 1900s, miners in the southwestern region of West Virginia came together, joining the previously formed United Miner Workers of America, to protest the low wages and poor working conditions they were facing from the mining companies. This started what is known as the Mine Wars. The protests took violent turns at times, namely the Battle of Matewan and the Battle of Blair Mountain, which resulted in the deaths of multiple miners and required the governor of West Virginia to send in National Guardsmen. The Mine Wars did not result in victory for the miners, as the mining companies had the federal government on their side and were able to hire new non-union member miners (MacLowry). Although this was not a traditional victory, the miners were able to show the power of banning together to fight unfair treatment, the same tactics used by the teachers of the mountain state one hundred years later.
Although separated by one hundred years, both the Mine Wars and the Teachers Strike show the resourcefulness and effectiveness of unionizing. Unionizing has seemingly become a part of the history of West Virginia, and this history seems to repeat itself. In fact, many of the teachers at the state capital wore red shirts and bandanas, a direct tribute to the miners who had protested for their workers’ rights in the Mine Wars (Wallace-Wells). In both instances, the strikers used to power of strength in numbers to find success. Although at the core these two strikes are quite similar, there are still some differences that may be why the teachers were able to actually get their demands met.
The internet has become a powerful tool for all who have access to it, and potentially played a pivotal role in the success of the teachers in West Virginia. The ability to use social media has proved to be beneficial in getting a message across, and the teachers were able to use this to their advantage, posting about what they were doing, why they were doing it, and creating hashtags to allow others to show their support for the teachers. Being able to spread a message so quickly is very effective in educating outsiders who have no idea about what you are trying to get done. This can be beneficial because when the whole country is aware that a quarter of a million kids are out of school because their teachers are not being paid enough, this puts quite a bit of pressure on the state legislature to do something to put these kids back in school. The miners, of course, did not have the benefit of the internet, and because of this there was less pressure for the mining companies to meet the miners’ demands.
West Virginia is known for a lot of things: mountains, moonshine, and mining, but what is often overlooked is the rich history of laborers in the country using the power of unionizing to fight oppression and unfair work conditions. The people in West Virginia have shown numerous times how so much can be done when people simply take the time to organize and work together. There is a lot to be learned from West Virginians.
Works Cited
Hauser, Christine. “Thousands of West Virginia Teachers Strike for a Second Day.” New York Times, 24 Feb. 2018, p. A11(L). General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/apps/doc/A528687412/ITOF?u=viva_vpi&sid=ITOF&xid=ae8b4329. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018.
Heins, Scott. “Striking school workers hold signs and chant inside the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston March 2, 2018.” Huffington Post, Getty Images, 7 March 2018. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-makes-the-west-virginia-teacher-strike-so-powerful_us_5a9db476e4b0a0ba4ad6f723
Heins, Scott. “Striking school workers hold signs and chant inside the West Virginia Capitol last week in Charleston, West Virginia.” Huffington Post, Getty Images, 7 March 2018. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/west-virginia-teachers-return-to-the-classroom-after-historic-strike
Hudson, Craig. “Protestor holds sign in front of West Virginia state Capitol.” New Yorker, The New Yorker, 2 March 2018. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-new-old-politics-of-the-west-virginia-teachers-strike
“Is the West Virginia teachers’ strike the future of American labor?” CNN Wire, 5 Mar. 2018. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A529920692?AONE?u=viva_vpi&sid=AONE&xid+6f62fb02. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018.
“Labor organizer Mother Jones rallying workers in Montgomery, WV in August 1912. West Virginia & Regional History Center.” Jacobinmag, Jacobin, 4 Mar. 2018. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/03/west-virginia-labor-history-teachers-strike
MacLowry, Randall. “The Mine Wars.” PBS. narrated by Michael Murphy, 26 Jan. 2016, http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-8/how-to-cite-a-film-or-video-in-mla-8/
“Miners line up for strike relief in Matewan, May 1920.” PBS, Courtesy: WV State Archives, Coal Life Collection, PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/theminewars-labor-wars-us/
“Munitions seized during the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike.” WVencyclopedia, Courtesy WV State Archives, Coal Life Collection, The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 13 September 2013. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1798
“Students In West Virginia Will Head Back To School As Teachers’ Strike Ends.” All Things Considered, 6 Mar. 2018. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/apps/doc/A530668215/LitRC?u=viva_vpi&sid=LitRC&xid=4e1c8964. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018.
Wallace-Wells, Benjamin. “The New Old Politics of the West Virginia Teachers Strike.” Newyorker.com. The New Yorker, 2 March 2018. Accessed 27 November 2018. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-new-old-politics-of-the-west-virginia-teachers-strike
