Teachers’ Strike in Mississippi Expands : Wildcat Protest of Wages Interrupts Classes for 14,000 Students

More Mississippi teachers joined wildcat strikes Tuesday, forcing an unscheduled holiday for about 14,000 students. The teachers are protesting being the lowest paid classroom instructors in the nation.

“We’re down now and I don’t know when we’ll be going back up,” said Baxterville school Principal John Stephens. “We’ve got picketing in front of our school and our teachers are dead set on seeing this thing through.”

The state’s 26,000 public school teachers are demanding a $7,000 raise over two years. They contend that such a hefty hike is needed because teacher pay in the state averages $15,971--the lowest in the nation.

Various Pay Proposals

State legislators are considering smaller pay packages, and Gov. Bill Allain wants the increase held to $1,500. Last Friday, the state Senate approved a $4,000 pay package over three years.

Schools in Forrest and Lamar counties closed Tuesday, joining three school systems that had shut down Monday.

And there were signs that the walkout, the first such action by Mississippi teachers, could grow. Teachers in several other districts in southern Mississippi said that they planned to strike in the next few days. In Jones County, 83% of the 448 teachers voted Tuesday to strike, starting Thursday.

‘However Long It Takes’

Teachers will remain out “for however long it takes to get a substantial, fair pay raise from the Legislature,” said Lamar County teacher Bob Schlott, a protest organizer.

Officials in several of the struck districts said that students and parents generally supported the teachers.

“We’ve had people stop by and wave,” said striking Petal Junior High teacher Lana Jones. “An infinite number gave us a thumbs-up sign as they drove by.”