Women in American Labour Movement: Overcoming Exclusion and Sex-Based Discrimination

Women’s Collective Action Continues

The 2018 industrial action by the AFT local union chapters of mostly women teachers in state-funded primary, middle and secondary schools, in six states has been successful. The members obtained increased public-school funding and pay raises for all teachers and school staff. The first was in West Virginia. These successes were the inspiration for subsequent successful industrial actions in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma (Turner, Lombardo, and Logan, 2018). In Oklahoma, some schools are open four days a week, instead of five days. There are insufficient text books for students. School funding has been reduced by 28% in two consecutive years, although pupil enrollment has increased. Teachers had not had a pay raise in ten years (BBC World Service, 2018).