As teacher anger explodes across US
How to fight for public education in Indiana
By
WSWS Teacher Newsletter
11 March 2019
Teachers, students and workers converging today in Indianapolis are part of a growing movement throughout the US and internationally against government austerity and social inequality.
This week, one million Argentinian teachers walked out for three days, and tens of thousands of teachers refused a back to work order in Ivory Coast. Ninety thousand Mexican educators are striking, and 300,000 Colombian teachers are set to walk out March 19. Teachers throughout the US have engaged in strike action or are discussing strike action, including in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and Fremont, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and in the states of Oklahoma, Arizona, Alaska, South Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky.
This is one fight, the world over. On one side are hundreds of millions of workers and young people. On the other side is a tiny oligarchy of billionaires who are demanding the destruction of public education, healthcare, and pensions.
In Indiana as in other states, teachers are fighting for better pay, school funding and against the ceaseless expansion of charter schools. Teachers in the state rank near the bottom of the national scale for teacher pay, which has declined more than 15 percent over the last 15 years.
Indiana lawmakers recently rejected a proposal to raise starting pay to $40,000 for teachers statewide. IndyStar reports that in 82 districts, the lowest-paid full-time teacher makes less than $35,000 a year, and in another 110 districts the minimum teacher salary is between $35,000 and $37,000 per year.
Indiana schools have been starved of funds for more than ten years. In the years since 2008, school funding has been increased…