Photos: Teachers' strike of 1990
Thousands of public school teachers refused to go to work in March 1990 in West Virginia’s first statewide teachers’ strike, a result of mounting frustration with having among the lowest salaries in the nation.
According to the West Virginia Encyclopedia, the 11-day strike began March 7, late in the West Virginia legislature’s annual session. The strike resulted in a special session on education later in 1990 and proved to be the catalyst for several changes in the state public school system, including the establishing of faculty senates in each school.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers rally outside the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston on March, 14, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch A woman carries a sign mocking Cabell County's inaction to strike during a rally March 15, 1990, at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike. Cabell County was not one of the 47 counties to officially participate, though neighboring Wayne County did. The sign is a play on the word "scab" used to describe those who continue to work despite an organized strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers demonstrate outside Huntington High School in Huntington on March, 13, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike. The man's shirt is a charicature of then West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers rally outside the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston on March, 14, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch A woman carries a sign mocking Cabell County's inaction to strike during a rally March 14, 1990, at Laidley Field in Charleston. Cabell County was not one of the 47 counties to officially participate, though neighboring Wayne County did. The sign is a play on the word "scab" used to describe those who continue to work despite an organized strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers demonstrate outside Huntington High School in Huntington on March, 13, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers protest outside Huntington East High School in Huntington on March, 14, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch A woman carries a sign mocking Cabell County's inaction to strike during a rally March 15, 1990, at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike. Cabell County was not one of the 47 counties to officially participate, though neighboring Wayne County did. The sign is a play on the word "scab" used to describe those who continue to work despite an organized strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers hold a rally at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington on March, 15, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers demonstrate outside Kellogg Elementary School in Huntington on March, 12, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers gather at the Laidley Field in Charleston on March, 14, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers hold a rally at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington on March, 15, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers picket outside Monroe Elementary in Huntington on March, 14, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers gather at the Laidley Field in Charleston on March, 14, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers hold a rally at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington on March, 15, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
File photo/The Herald-Dispatch Teachers rally outside the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston on March, 14, 1990 as part of the 1990 statewide teacher strike.
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HUNTINGTON - In the West Virginia Encyclopedia, there is only one entry under "Teachers' Strike," though that's sure to soon change.