CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As teachers continue to demonstrate in Charleston, the West Virginia State Senate passed S.B. 267, granting a one percent across the board pay raise for five years to teachers.
The vote was 33-0. Chants of “We will strike!” and “We vote, too!” were ongoing outside of the chamber as the vote was underway.
The bill designated a one percent pay raise for teachers, service personnel, and uniformed and administrative State Police. A number of union meetings and rallies in recent days this week have mostly been related to complaints over rising premium costs for the Public Employee’s Insurance Agency.
Governor Jim Justice, speaking on MetroNews Talkline Friday morning, said he agrees it needs to be addressed.
“We do have to fix the PEIA stuff,” he said. “There’s stuff there that we can do, but got completely out of control.”
Teachers from three counties staged a one-day walkout to attend their rally in the State Capitol Friday.