A Better Way to Increase Teachers' Pay

“Who made history? We made history!” According to Jane McAlevey, writing in The Nation, that was the triumphant chant of West Virginia teachers after state lawmakers passed legislation designed to put an end to a statewide education strike. Teachers' unions around the country have been emboldened by the strike's success, and understandably so: The West Virginia settlement goes beyond making concessions on wages and health benefits to include halting the expansion of charter schools and putting an end to efforts to reform work rules, among other things. Chances are we will see similar strikes elsewhere, with Arizona and Oklahoma as two of the likeliest candidates. At a time when public-sector unions are bracing for the outcome of the Janus case, which could put an end to mandatory union fees for public-sector employees who choose to opt out of union membership, this is a shot in the arm for the labor movement's dominant public-sector wing — a sign that militancy can work.