“That’s crazy. I wouldn’t work at McDonald’s for those terms.”
The 15-year-old and his family had just moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina, and asked their new teacher, “Should we be making plans for when teachers will strike?” The student was shocked to discover that North Carolina teachers are not only unable to strike, but cannot bargain at all for wages.
The family raised new questions: How, then, do teachers know what they will be paid? The response was simple– the state tells them their salary, and that’s that.
East theater teacher Hope Love recalled this instance from earlier in her career. For months, she and teachers all over North Carolina have been protesting the inaction of the General Assembly on passing a budget for the education sector. This January, the state Senate met once again to gridlock the budget vote until likely April.
North Carolina Democrats want to raise teachers’ salaries by about eight percent, but Republicans stand firm with around a four percent increase, with the conditions that Democrats abandon their Medicaid policy.
The budget affects not only teachers’ wages but funding for classrooms, school buildings and supplies. The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) sets their legislative priorities to include increasing the number of school social workers and nurses, fixing deteriorating schools and increasing per-pupil funding for textbooks and technology.
Since the state election in 2012, teachers have continued to demand adequate funding, and as a response to the lack of legislation, the NCAE began a statewide movement called Red for Ed, in which educators and students alike wear red on Wednesdays in support of public education.
“It’s a representation of what has transpired since the General Assembly took over the state legislature in 2010, but in particular after, when they severely cut public funding for education,” said Brian Link, civics teacher. “We’re about $3 billion behind where we should be, when accounting for inflation.”
The Red for Ed movement brings visibility and solidarity to the persistent efforts of teachers. At East, many teachers are involved directly in the movement, and show their unity by wearing red weekly, which helps build momentum and traction.
“Class size matters, resources matter, having a textbook matters,” said Kimberly Manning, a biology teacher at East and chair of the NCAE Black caucus. “All of these things play a role in the achievement of students, and so Red for Ed is simply a universal statement for our organization, to say we champion public education.”
After the Senate’s most recent stalemate, the NCAE has been considering the possibility of strikes and surveyed North Carolina educators’ opinions on striking.
For many teachers in the movement, while the message that strikes would send to the legislature is beneficial, the high-risk consequences serve as a deterrent.
North Carolina is a right-to-work state, meaning that it does not allow trade unions. Therefore, a statewide walkout would be illegal, and teachers who strike would risk losing their jobs and teaching licenses.
“The concern is if we go on strike, we would jeopardize our jobs,” said Kelly Allen, a chemistry teacher. “And I will be honest, I cannot jeopardize my job. I would have no way to support myself. If every teacher in the entire state agreed and all went on strike together that might be one thing, but I think we’re not ready.”
Manning also brings up the point that last year’s single-day strike did not change the Senate’s actions.
“Unless we are willing to be out longer than a day, I don’t know that we will get a different response from the General Assembly,” said Manning. “They seem hell bent on sticking to their guns and just letting things stay as they are.”
Still, other teachers believe that a strike may eventually come out of the movement, as a natural continuation of their protests.
“Many people do not take action until they feel the pressure of the absence of something, and its impact on their daily lives,” said Love. “I would prefer collective civic, nonviolent protest to the alternative.”
Teachers suggest that students and their families participate in the movement, and offer many possible actions.
“If you are of voting age, you can vote for people who support public education,” said Allen. “You can write your representatives, whether it’s the General Assembly representatives or the school board. Wear red on Wednesdays. And this sounds corny, but if you are wearing red on a Wednesday, take a picture of yourself on Instagram or Twitter or whatever, and use the hashtag #red4ed. The more people who know about it, the better.”
Love persistently calls her national representatives every Monday and Tuesday, state representatives Wednesday and Thursday, and on Friday calls local officials. She stresses the importance of communication with legislators.
“The citizenry cannot stand on the side,” Love said. “When the citizenry stands on the side, institutions lean to dictatorship, because there’s a vacuum, and people will always find ways to take that space. And it is way harder to take back that space than to hold it.”
Education budgeting affects not only teachers, but the entire community, including future generations.
“Sometimes it feels like we’re putting water in a bucket that other people are trying to make holes in,” said Love. “And so the Red for Ed is like, ‘Stop putting holes in the bucket.’ Stop putting holes in our bucket.”
