John Thompson writes here about the latest from Oklahoma. Some teachers wanted a statewide strike, like West Virginia. The most militant wanted a strike beginning April 2, coinciding with testing season.
However the Oklahoma Education Association moved back the date to give the legislature more time to act.
Thompson writes:
“Heather Reed, a teacher at OKC’s Lee Elementary School, organized the Moore meeting of three-dozen teachers. She said April 2 would be a good strike date because such timing “might hurt the most.”
“But Tuesday, the Oklahoma Education Association announced an April 23 deadline with other details of their plan, as reported by Felder of The Oklahoman:
“(Executive director David) DuVall said the OEA is going to ask the Legislature to approve at least a $10,000 pay raise that could be funded over three years. The OEA also plans to ask for increased funding for school operations.
“We plan to present a revenue plan (on Thursday) to fund it,” DuVall said.
Thompson writes:
“I agree with an April deadline. The suspension of school as the bubble-in testing season begins would be win-win. If we’re going to improve our schools, sooner or later teachers will have to shut them down. The best time is when most students would not be learning anything worthwhile.”
The OEA seems determined to cool down the hotheads and risk losing momentum.
If the Janus decision goes against unions, as most people predict, the employers will miss them because there will be no intermediary to stop the wildcat strikes. Or turn a strike into a walkout.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The DEFORMERS never give up.
Here’s one … no parent-teacher conferences. CRAZY.
No more parent-teacher conferences: Why one Colorado school district is going with an online data system. What a BS reason. https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/co/2017/11/10/no-more-parent-teacher-conferences-why-one-colorado-school-district-is-going-with-an-online-data-system-instead/
Face-to-face is always better. Good grief, save time for more instruction is the reason given. Egads, parents are our partners and dissing parents like this is just WRONG. Parents have a right for a face-to-face parent-teacher conference. And BTW, I included my students in this most important parent-student-teacher conference. The students know what they know. Good GAWD. The DEFORMERS are just that DEFORMERS who want only online “shi**y” stuff made up by those far away from the classroom. SICK.
I would like to know what has happened in the intervening months. Even if every parent was a fluent English speaker, eliminating face to face contact from the equation is just dumb. The article explains quite clearly why this decision was not well thought out and highlights the downside of a tech love affair. The Onion could probably turn this into an entertaining parody except the people who need to “get it” wouldn’t.
So many ideas that should never see the light of day!
AND always missing in Colorado is the reality that, like almost all suddenly decided reforms, “online” has the possibility of serving about 80% of parents; the 20% or so of parents who do not fit Big Tech goals are simply written out of the picture.
Yes. OEA is the labor police, demeaning militant teachers as “hotheads’ for finally demanding dignity. OEA wants to keep control of the situation from the inside by bending ears of govt. to give in a little. The strongest force OK teachers, students, and communities have is exactly a wildcat walkout April 2 whose stunning impact will light a fire under the authorities to give in. Without power in the streets, the power of dignity and justice is weak.
A policy of waiting to give the legislature more time seems pointless to me. Will they see the light in three more weeks?
No. They will not. As an OKCPS parent I received a text last night telling me that after Spring Break there may not be teachers in the class room. I fully support that! This is enough. This is oil and gas country. Where is all the money? The lottery money? This has to stop.
I suspect that the Kochtopus has been infiltrating the elected leadership of teachers’ unions for some time. Any democratic organization, during an election, can be manipulated and infiltrated if you have enough money and are sneaky and ruthless enough to buy someone. And the Koch brothers have been at it for at least 45 years — to subvert local, state and federal governments. Why should they not include subverting labor unions too?
Just listened to a report by both Oklahoma and W. Virginia teachers. As a retired teacher, it did my heart good to hear them speak out and win!
I’ve said for years that teachers must learn from the nurses. Stand Strong!!!
OEA changed their tune today. They knew it was a big mistake last night. The OEA President put out a video today putting the Okleg on notice. If there is not a meaning package in place by April 1st. Teachers walk, schools shut down.