Leader of first St. Louis teachers’ strike dies
By Michael D. Sorkin, St. Louis Post-Dispatch | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
With whites moving to the suburbs, the city had a declining tax base. It was becoming smaller, blacker and poorer.
Inside the schools, teachers argued that they couldn't manage classrooms crowded with as many as 50 students. Teachers who barely earned
By 1973,
He joined the
The other teachers' organization was the more militant
The two rival unions joined forces in 1973 when the
After months in which the teachers felt they weren't being valued or listened to,
"That's how he got himself in trouble,"
Striking was -- and is -- illegal for teachers and other public employees in
They hired photographers and private detectives to attend meetings and intimidate the teachers, according to an analysis of the strike.
When the two unions voted to strike, a
Soon after the teachers began picketing, all 10 high schools in the city were closed. By the third day, all city schools were closed. Of 4,170
At first,
That was before the lack of classroom supervision resulted in vandalism by students, including throwing desks out of windows. Parents feared their children would have to spend the summer in school.
With pressure mounting, Schlafly went to the city
Teachers across the country sent money to pay for the fines
He was a Republican, she was a Democrat. He belonged to the
The strike lasted less than a month and resulted in moderate gains in benefits and pay, said Gonzales, the historian. More importantly, the
In 1979, there was a second strike that won a bigger bump in salaries. In 2007, the
As for
Visitation will be
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include a son,
___
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