To: Detroit/Seattle Workers' Voice mailing list
August 24, 2022

Columbus Teachers Begin 4,500-Teacher Strike,
Are Shot at with Pellet Gun but Unfazed

by Tim Hall, Detroit Workers’ Voice

4,500 Columbus, Ohio, teachers and other staff were unfazed when a person fired several shots with a pellet gun into one of their strike picket lines Tuesday, August 23. Several members were struck by pellets but there were no serious injuries. A union spokesperson for the Columbus Educational Association declared that the teachers “will not be intimidated.”

It was the second day of their strike. They are picketing at 19 schools and one other location through each day this week They declare they will continue their strike into the school year if necessary. This is classroom preparation week; children begin attending Wednesday. This is the school system's first strike since 1975. On Sunday the teachers rejected the school board's “last” offer by an overwhelming 94% vote.

The teachers are demanding working heating and cooling, safe classrooms and safe schools, and a nurse in every school, One union member's sign read: "Columbus students deserve: Rodent-free classrooms! Working HVAC! Qualified administrators! Modern schools! No more black mold!!!" (1.)

Capitalism, especially as it degenerates currently, treats teachers and educational staff atrociously. Teachers work long beyond a 40-hour week under miserable conditions and extreme overwork for shrinking real wages and are expected to pay for many school supplies. They have been fighting back. We welcome the determination of the Columbus teachers and wish them success!

Notes

1.) “Several Columbus Education Association picketers hit by pellet shots as strike marks Day 2”, Megan Henry, The Columbus Dispatch, August 23-2022, by Megan Henry.

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