West Virginia teachers began going on strike on February 2nd, 2018 in response to their health care benefits being cut. The teachers stayed out of the classroom for nine days total, protested in the capital of Charleston and generated national headlines. They demanded a raise for public school teacher salaries, as well as an increase in pay for all public and state employees; with many teachers citing the fact that they often have to take on second jobs over the summer...
These two groups have been in communication as both have preformed similar strikes, rallies, and marches in the past couple of months with hopes of seeing an increase in funding and pay for schools and teachers respectively.
A labor movement is defined as “a movement campaigning to improve the rights and conditions of working people.” While the individual groups we researched span the globe, the overarching theme is a constant fight to let workers share in the wealth they have created. The movements we have chronicled, past and present, are wholly grassroots, as they sprung from the abysmal working and living conditions of exploited workers. Strikes and protests are often the last resort...