Stephen McElroy, Bridgeport
It’s no coincidence that teachers’ unions are forcing strikes only in states which the Democratic Party’s establishment has targeted for election success this November.
It started with West Virginia and spread to Arizona, Colorado and Kentucky, all states targeted by Democrats. Union leadership has done a good job of turning out teachers who understandably hope to seize upon the opportunity to enhance their compensation packages.
But why no similar rankle in Democrat-controlled states?
Under Democratic Party leadership, West Virginia’s teacher salaries remained some of the lowest in the nation. Only when the GOP achieved a majority at the Capitol did union leadership see fit to strike and make a national spectacle of its efforts.
And what did the GOP leadership do in response? It came up with a 5 percent raise and a freeze on PEIA (the Public Employees Insurance Agency) contributions, all while maintaining the budget, a feat which no Democratic-led Legislature had been able (or willing) to tackle in its many years in control of the government.
I hope West Virginians and especially teachers and other public workers can see through the dog and pony show that the Democrat Party is putting on in these targeted states with the assistance of the teachers’ unions.
West Virginia has just embarked on a new beginning toward sensible government which is finally taking steps to lead the state toward opportunities for prosperity.
It will be a sad day if these orchestrated charades have their intended effect — to trick voters into returning the ineffective leadership that failed the state for so many decades.
