West Virginia's teacher strike hits its ninth day today, after lawmakers failed to agree on a proposed pay raise for educators. Teachers say they won't go back to work until they get a 5% raise. GOP Gov. Jim Justice gave his blessing to that, and the state House OK'd it, but the state Senate only passed a 4% raise, thus the impasse. A legislative conference committee will meet today to try to iron out the differences between the House and Senate bills.
Meanwhile in Oklahoma, teachers are also thinking about going on strike, after state lawmakers shot down a bill that would have given them a $5,000 raise. Oklahoma ranks 49th in teacher salaries, and educators say a pay increase is needed to keep teachers from fleeing to other higher-paying states.
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