Tag: teacher strikes

  North Carolina teachers took to the streets Wednesday for the second year in a row with hopes that a more politically balanced legislature will be more willing to meet their demands. Teachers, auxiliary staff and supporters marched in Raleigh with scheduled speakers including Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the Rev. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign. When an estimated 20,000 people marched for teachers last year, Republicans held a veto-proof majority in the state House and Senate. The results of November’s election changed that, and now Cooper’s vetoes can stand if Democrats remain united. The House budget released Tuesday includes some of the teachers’ demands: higher pay for veteran teachers and restoration of a salary bump for teachers with masters’ degrees. Teachers in neighboring South Carolina also rallied Wednesday and Oregon teachers plan to gather next week as walkouts that began in West Virginia last spring continue across the country, with many proving successful. In Raleigh, teachers were going to meeting spots Wednesday morning ahead of the march and rally. One group of teachers donning red shirts with the North Carolina state outline walked to the state legislative building Wednesday morning. Among them was a seventh-grade student,…