Chapter 11 Case Study: #RedforEd: West Virginia’s Teacher Strike

When one thinks about the strength of organized labor, West Virginia is likely not the first state that comes to mind. About 10 percent of workers in West Virginia were unionized in 2023—exactly in line with the national average.^[1] Yet the members of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, the two largest teachers’ unions in the United States, helped spark a national reckoning to invest more in teachers and public elementary and secondary education.

In 2017, West Virginia’s funding of public education lagged behind other states.^[2] The state spent less per pupil than the national average. It ranked twenty-sixth in per-pupil education spending. In particular, West Virginia public schools spent considerably less on teacher salaries, wages, and benefits compared to the national average.^[3]

While West Virginia has below-average rates of union affiliation, the teachers’ unions were unwilling to sit there and do nothing. Interest groups, like teachers’ unions, tend to have two primary sources of power. The first is financial—being able to invest in full-time lobbying at state capitols, supporting the reelection of friendly legislators, and facilitating the defeat of political opponents. However, for those without deep pockets, the power of the people or grassroots support can facilitate change. That is what teachers in West Virginia did in 2018 and again in 2019.

In 2018, West Virginia teachers participated in a nine-day walkout. As part of drawing attention to their cause, the hashtag #RedforEd went viral. Over the next several months, teacher protests and strikes spread to other states, such as Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, and North Carolina.^[4] As a result, many teachers received raises, and class sizes were reduced in many instances. In particular, West Virginia teachers won a 5 percent pay increase.

The following year, teachers walked off the job again to protest attempts to further privatize education and drain more resources away from public education. Once again, they were successful in preventing legislation they opposed. This policy fight also underscores that interest groups do not work in a vacuum. They often find themselves pitted against other interest groups. This 2019 policy fight pitted teachers against model legislation promoting school choice from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the deep financial pockets of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group funded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.^[5]

This is the essence of pluralism, that ideas ought to compete against one another to promote outcomes more generally agreeable to diverse interests. Some interests have financial resources. Some interests have more people on their side. Some perspectives are more likely to be organized and have representation than others. Teachers may have earned some hard victories in West Virginia, but organized interests will continue to use state and local government for the next fight.

Critical Thinking Questions

What factors led the teacher strikes in West Virginia and elsewhere to be successful? What lessons can other organized groups learn from their success?

What role should campaign contributions, and money in politics more broadly, play in shaping public policy? What regulations, if any, should be put in place at the state level?

What strategies would you recommend interest groups utilize to influence elections and public policy?