CHARLESTON, WV — All West Virginia public schools will remain closed Thursday, which was the day teachers were to return to work after what is turning into a week-long strike over pay and benefits.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice had reached a tentative pay deal with union leaders Tuesday that was designed to end the strike and send teachers back into the classroom on Thursday.
The agreement provides for a 5% pay raise the first year, and is now a bill going through the state’s legislature.
However, the deal didn’t include a fix to the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), which employees say requires them to pay premiums that are too high. That so far remains a major sticking point.
The governor said the issue of funding insurance would be addressed by a task force created by the union deal, which is not the immediate fix educators wanted.
As a result, teachers and education personnel are demanding a fix to their health insurance as part of the new deal. Educators and supporters crowded in the state Capitol on Wednesday sang, “We’re not gonna take it.”
They also chanted “See you Thursday” and “See you Friday” outside Justice’s office, continuing the demonstrations that began last week.
The state’s insurance plan covers nearly 200,000 public employees working in West Virginia, according to CNN affiliate WCHS. The fund is being listed as being in poor health, the station reported.
Educators say they face higher co-pays and out of pocket maximums for medical care as their pay remains low.
“The number one thing was we needed a permanent fix to PEIA,” Lori Hausvater, a math and special education teacher at Lincoln High School in Shinnston, told CNN. “It wasn’t about the money at all. It was about the insurance fix.”
Roughly 277,000 students attend school in West Virginia.
Judith Boyce, a local union president of Braxton County told CNN that she met with her county membership and they voted overwhelmingly to not return to work on Thursday.
“A lot of people are feeling distrust toward the governor’s word,” she said.
The strike has put 20,000 teachers and 13,000 school service employees on the picket lines.
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