Allow NC teachers to organize for dignity and better pay

At the end of last semester at most Wake County schools, students were scrambling to hit deadlines and teachers were preparing for North Carolina’s testing season. The students are persistent and the teachers are professional, so things turned out fine for most. Unfortunately for students, staff, and all stakeholders in public education, however, some educators took this midpoint in the year to transition out of the profession and pursue other higher-paying careers.

According to the Learning Policy Institute, this year the U.S. will be short nearly 120,000 educators. In North Carolina, the State Board of Education reported that teacher turnover rate is down to 7.5% which is still a cause for concern when a vacancy means students in a classroom without a full-time, licensed teacher providing instruction. At the school where I teach, this year alone we’ve lost at least five educators, including a young, award-winning teacher, coach, and department leader.

Do not make the error of blaming the specific school climate: our teachers are dedicated, our administrators are supportive, our community members are involved, and our students are the absolute best.

No, do not blame the school; instead, blame the N.C. General Assembly and General Statute 95-98, the law that makes it a misdemeanor for state workers (including teachers) to effectively organize for dignity, democracy, and better pay. Blame the politicians who refuse to invest in teachers as professionals, and blame the antiquated law that violates our rights as citizens in a free society.

In June last year, Gov. Cooper rejected a budget that would have increased teacher and school staff wages in the most pathetic increment. On Jan. 14th, the General Assembly met to override the veto, but failed. Ask any teacher. Ask my students who poke fun at educator salaries. Teaching may be a calling, but a calling doesn’t pay the rent, student loan payment, deductible, or grocery bill.

Other states in the U.S., allow teachers to get together, brainstorm solutions, and then advocate for those solutions in democratic and positive ways. Other states in the U.S. care about an educated populace taught by professionals treated fairly and involved in the decision-making of their expertise. Other states in the U.S. allow teachers to organize and build power from below. Under a specific N.C. law from the 1950s, it is illegal for teacher unions to collectively bargain or go on strike, which declaws any teacher organization from the start. We may march on May Day and wear #RedForEd on Wednesdays, but if we were to mobilize in a way that would actually force the state government to respond to our grievances, we’d risk losing our professional licenses and potentially face a misdemeanor.

It is a downright mockery that teachers get paid 70% less than their peers with similar levels of education. It is nothing short of tyranny when workers of this country are unable to petition their employers in powerful, responsible, and effective ways.

We will have too many openings at my school next semester, openings filled by underpaid substitutes teaching lesson plans provided by overworked department leaders, but we will carry on. We love our students and we love this work, but the inability of the state government to invest in education will not be forgotten during this pivotal election year. We vote because we have some hope in others, but we organize because we have a power that governments cannot suppress.

Pay teachers more and good teachers will stay. Let teachers organize and the solidarity will ensure that U.S. public education thrives.