I met Erica Newsome at Netroots Nation 2018 where she was one of the panelists speaking about the West Virginia teachers strike. Other panelists included Zanetta Stallworth, Ryan Frankenberry, and Brianne Solomon (now running for state legislator in WV-14). I told Erica how the strike had been an inspiration to many educators and others around the country and asked her if she’d share her experiences.
What’s your background as a teacher, Erica?
My parents always told me that they thought I would be a good teacher, so that’s always what I leaned toward. I originally wanted to be a Music teacher but eventually switched to English Language Arts. I have taught English in West Virginia as well as Toronto, Canada, and South Korea. This will be my ninth year teaching.
What led to the strike?
For a very long time, teachers have been mistreated and overworked. Central Offices spend millions of dollars on programs that take control away from educated professionals and put us at the mercy of a different school’s programming, or a computer generated lesson, while we can barely obtain school supplies for our rooms.
West Virginia, as a state, has failed its teachers spectacularly. Years ago, lawmakers told us that we would never be at the top pay scale but we would have good benefits from the state and be taken care of in terms of insurance and retirement. For the past several years, the state has not contributed any money to the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) and have passed the rising costs of health care onto their underpaid state workers, including teachers.
This past year, the PEIA board decided to cut premiums for the top tier of public employees (which would include people such as Dana Holgorson, West Virginia University’s head football coach, who reportedly makes over 2 million a year) because they were “paying too much” and shifted additional costs onto lower income workers instead. They also planned to charge extra to married employees, and charge per child instead of offering a single family plan. Deductibles were to be higher than ever while our salaries have been stagnant for several years.
I think the last straw was when we learned we would be forced to download a phone app that would track our movement, food intake, body measurements, and more. Failure to do so would result in even higher deductibles and would force even retired employees to report their biometrics regularly via a phone app. Some teachers who downloaded the app reported that they already had targeted ads and other evidence of tracking appear on their phones even before signing up for the program. Invading our privacy while asking more and more of us each year and paying less was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The lack of respect and basic decency afforded to some of the most highly educated and important employees of West Virginia left us little recourse than to walk out of the classroom.
How did you get organized?
I was asked to be a part of a private Facebook Group in the fall of 2017 at a WVEA training. The goal was for teachers who were frustrated with our treatment to come together, outside of the unions and individual schools and BOE’s, to discuss how we could affect positive change for teachers in the state. From there, as people learned what was happening with PEIA, unions set up regional meetings to discuss the issues. Mingo, Wyoming, and Logan counties decided at their meetings to take county votes to walk out on 2/2, and all three counties overwhelmingly voted yes. Shortly after, the unions organized a Saturday Rally to announce a two-day walkout statewide, which became the nine-day strike.
If I recall, you mentioned that there’s three teacher unions in West Virginia. How did they come to work together?
It was not without some contention, but for the most part, the teachers and public employees themselves took the lead during this strike. Though the leaders of all three unions were active in negotiations and protests, it was ultimately the will of the WV public employees that secured the 5 percent raise. This went directly against what the WVEA, AFT, and WVSSPA agreed to, which resulted in the strike being extended to the following week.
We were nothing more and nothing less than a large group of educators and public employees that were not willing to back down for less than what we deserve. And we are willing, able, and ready to return to the picket line if the state does not keep its promises.
What happened during the strike?
A lot of things happened! This is the only strike in WV history that involved all 55 counties. Even the previous teacher strike in the 1990s did not have teachers from every county participate. We also had some other labor actions that only involve one union or the other. We knew if we let them fracture us (and they certainly tried), we would lose. I met teachers from every county, of all different backgrounds and political beliefs, who came together to save public education in West Virginia. Things that I did not see, which should be noted, were violence, destruction of property, or other inappropriate behavior for teachers. Many teachers brought their children, and older students came of their own accord to both the picket lines and capitol, and I can say that I did not see or hear anything that wasn’t appropriate for children to see or hear. I like to think we set a good example for these young people about how to fight for what is right.
I don’t know if you know this, but the West Virginia teachers are heroes to a lot of people in the country who were inspired by you standing up. What advice would you have for others?
I hope that educators and other laborers who are being mistreated by their employers know that they are not alone. It is easy to feel like you are the only one, that you’re the problem, that you’re crazy or not a team player, but those are lies that those above us, those who profit from us, want us to believe. Don’t let them persuade you of this.
The labor movement isn’t the union, or a group of people who are going to show up and save you. The labor movement is you and me. The labor movement is one person who is willing to turn and say to another “This is not okay. Will you stand with me?” It takes a lot of courage, and you may lose a battle or two, but remember that the employer owes their employees everything. Without us, there would be nothing. The teachers of WV are a major part of the social safety net in this state, which is suffering from a terrible opioid crisis. We care for students, we take them into our own homes, feed and clothe them out of pocket. Educators in many states do this, and we do not deserve to be martyrs just because we want to help children.
We deserve to work one job (which is a very difficult job at that), to afford to live above the poverty line, to have every resource available to help our children without paying out of pocket.
Is there anything I’m not asking that I should be asking? And … what’s your response?
I feel it is important that people understand the significant history that the labor movement has here in West Virginia. West Virginia, and the southern counties where I am from and where I work and live, had a major labor movement in the 1920s, called the “Mine Wars” by some. Citizens of the town of Matewan were forced out of their homes into tent cities for attempting to create a chapter of the United Mine Workers of America.
The coal barons brought in hired guns to intimidate the people into compliance. The sheriff of the town, Sid Hatfield (who is my ancestor!) and others met them at the train depot to prevent them from coming into town. A shoot-out occured where several men on both sides were killed. Not long after, Hatfield himself was assassinated on the courthouse steps in Welch, WV, where he was facing a trial for the “Matewan Massacre” as it came to be called.
This only served to unite coal miners even more, and large groups from the southern counties began to march to the capitol in Charleston, on foot, to demand better working and living conditions. These men proudly wore bandanas around their necks, red bandanas, to identify friend from foe. The term “redneck” was given to these men, these men who were stopped by the United States Air Force on Blair Mountain, which is very close to where I live now.
Several hundred men were killed by our own military for merely wishing to join a union. Here in the mountains, we have a long memory … and that’s why I wore a red bandana around my neck at every protest and union meeting. We do not forget. And our legislators and governor need to also understand that we will not forget their promises to us, and we will walk out again if they do not make good on their word.
Erica Newsome continues to teach high school and make a difference in the lives of her students. Brianne Solomon (one of the other panelists and teachers) is now running for the state legislature in WV-14. If you’d like to help send a teacher to the West Virginia state house you can donate here.