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Vol. 82/No. 12 March 26, 2018
Ky. teachers fight threat of government pension cuts
BY EMMA JOHNSON
Following the example of school workers in West Virginia, over a 1,000
teachers, retirees, other public workers and their supporters crowded
the state Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, March 12, protesting a bill
brought before the state Senate that would slash retired teachers
pensions and their cost of living adjustments. The rally was called,
“The People’s Movement — United We Stand.”
The proposed pension cuts hit teachers particularly hard, as they’re not
covered by Social Security.
“We’ve got to fill up this building everyday,” Josh Trosper, assistant
principal at Knox Central High School, told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
“We’ve got to be loud, we’ve got to fight back.”
Because of low pay and bad conditions, Kentucky schools have already
lost hundreds of teachers. Lisa Poor, a school librarian and member of
the Campbell County Education Association, said she has to work at a
number of schools because district administrators say they can’t afford
to staff each one.
The Senate was scheduled to vote on the bill three days earlier, but in
the face of protesting teachers and others packing the Capitol,
legislators decided to send it back to the committee. Senate and House
leaders said they didn’t know when it would be taken up again, clearly
hoping the protests will go away.
Among the rally sponsors were Kentucky Education Association, the state
AFL-CIO, Teamsters, Service Employees International Union and American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Related articles:
Inspired by W.Va. victory workers organize to fight
Victory of W.Va. teachers builds labor movement
Get in a car, take a plane, join workers in struggle!
Bosses disregard for safety led to Washington Amtrak derailment
Appalachia telecom workers strike against Frontier
Uptick spurs jobs, picks up confidence of working class
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