West Virginia Teacher Strike 2018

Note: This post was updated at 8:30 PM on March 1 to add the table data at the bottom of the page. It was unintentionally omitted from the original version.  JDV

Summary: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli

West Virginia’s teachers have certainly faced challenges over the last decade, as have nearly all Americans who are not independently wealthy. While their claims of poverty and unfair treatment can be proven statistically viewed one way, those claims do not stand up to contextual analysis. Everyone wants a bigger paycheck, and there is no harm in making a case for that. However, teachers in West Virginia knew the terms of their contract when they signed on the dotted line. Striking because one doesn’t like an agreement voluntarily entered into can charitably be described as unethical behavior worthy of a toddler. As long as a valid contract remains in force, these teachers belong in the classroom. Once the contract expires, they are more than welcome to negotiate changes to the conditions of their employment, and refuse to return to the classroom until a satisfactory agreement can be reached. There is no question that a teacher strike under those circumstances would be every bit as frustrating and disruptive to the lives of parents and schoolchildren alike as is the current strike. The difference is that teachers would be striking from a position of integrity rather than foreswearing the obligations to the community they freely chose to accept.

There’s a funny thing about statistics. Using exactly the same set of data, different people can “prove” wildly different conclusions depending upon the objective.

(Note: the data set used here is not the same as the one West Virginia teachers cite, but the numbers are close enough to make the illustration valid. The data used in this piece ranks the WV teachers at 47^th nationwide in pay, and includes Washington, DC, for a pool of fifty-one locations.)

Take the West Virginia teacher strike. Among other concerns, they are outraged that they are ranked 48^th in pay nationwide. Concern has also been expressed that compensation has been nearly flat over the past decade, and over the fact that their insurance costs are increasing.

For the vast majority of employees, wages have been flat to declining over the past decade or longer. Inflation affects all income levels, though without question it is the middle and lower income groups who experience the greatest hardship. Inflation has officially been low – except for those people who eat, heat and cool their homes, or drive to and from work. WV teachers certainly have not been exempted from these challenges, but then neither have all other folks in their communities.

Health insurance costs have risen for everyone in recent years, particularly since 2013. The two areas of direct out of pocket expense for the majority of consumers, insurance premiums and deductibles (the amount that must be spent before having the insurance provides meaningful benefit) have increased dramatically from 2008 to 2017. For individuals, average premiums rose 147% and deductibles 107% during that time. Those who married and produced offspring fared even worse, seeing increases of 176% and 202% respectively. For WV teachers to be upset with rising health care costs and expect taxpayers to cushion the blow for them is to deny the realities of life in the United States in the second decade of the twentieth century.

		Average			Average			Average Family			Average Family
			Individual Health			Individual Health			Health Insurance			Health Insurance
			Insurance			Insurance			Premium			Deductible
			Premium			Deductible
First two months of 2017 open enrollment			$393			$4,328			$1,021			$8,352
2016 open enrollment			$321			$4,385			$833			$7,983
2015 open enrollment			$286			$4,120			$727			$7,760
2014 open enrollment			$271			$4,164			$667			$7,771
2013			$197			$3,319			$426			$4,230
2012			$190			$3,079			$412			$4,079
2011			$183			$2,935			$414			$3,879
2010			$167			$2,632			$392			$3,531
2009			$161			$2,326			$383			$3,128
2008			$159			$2,084			$369			$2,760

Source: https://news.ehealthinsurance.com/news/average-individual-health-insurance-premiums-increased-99-since-2013-the-year-before-obamacare-family-premiums-increased-140-according-to-ehealth-com-shopping-data

Then there are wages, the high profile complaint teachers and their representatives have been most vocal about. From the data here, teachers rank 47^th nationally in average pay. Devoid of any context it certainly sounds as though they are receiving the rawest of raw deals – except perhaps for their brethren in North Carolina, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and poor, abused South Dakota whose teachers find themselves dead last in the compensation rankings.

Providing a bit of context for the compensation numbers paints a very different picture, however.

Dollars received for the teaching job will never be the same across the country. The cost of living, and the tax bases that support public employee salaries, are dramatically different in New York City and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Perhaps a more accurate baseline for comparing of the relative value of teacher compensation would be to evaluate their salaries as a percentage of the Median Household Income (MHI) for their state. That would identify how well off a teacher is as a single income earner compared to the combined incomes of all members of a household in their state. That is a far more accurate reflection of how their compensation compares to the other citizens in their community, and how that compensation “fairness” compares to their peers in other states.

Looked at in this manner, the teachers of West Virginia find themselves ranked twelfth in the nation compared to their peers in average salary as a percentage of MHI. Not bad at all for a state that ranks 48 out of 51 in MHI. Even better, for those who are taking their newly minted credentials and entering the teaching profession for the first time, West Virginia’s teachers enjoy an average starting salary that comes in sixth in the nation.

Alas, South Dakotans are still dead last in average salary as a percentage of MHI, but they are a more respectable 43^rd just starting out.

Teacher Compensation Data

Rank	STATE	AVERAGE STARTING SALARY	AVERAGE SALARY	% of MHI	% of MHI Rank	Starting % MHI	Starting % MHI Rank	State MHI Rank
1	New York	$43,839	$75,279	156.18%	1	75.58%	7	23
3	District of Columbia	$51,539	$70,906	150.16%	2	73.55%	8	5
27	Louisiana	$38,655	$51,381	135.42%	3	84.18%	1	45
9	Pennsylvania	$41,901	$63,521	132.91%	4	69.39%	16	20
28	Kentucky	$35,166	$50,326	130.83%	5	82.96%	2	50
11	Michigan	$35,901	$61,560	130.80%	6	66.23%	23	31
2	Massachusetts	$40,600	$73,129	130.04%	7	59.83%	35	8
29	Montana	$27,274	$49,999	129.43%	8	53.07%	45	37
14	Oregon	$33,549	$58,758	129.18%	9	55.15%	41	17
5	California	$41,259	$69,324	128.93%	10	64.84%	24	13
15	Ohio	$33,096	$58,092	126.74%	11	62.09%	27	32
47	West Virginia	$32,533	$46,405	124.65%	12	75.97%	6	48
39	Alabama	$36,198	$47,949	124.63%	13	81.33%	3	47
16	Wyoming	$43,269	$57,920	122.64%	14	71.02%	12	15
10	Rhode Island	$39,196	$63,474	122.06%	15	70.37%	14	27
40	South Carolina	$32,306	$47,924	121.47%	16	69.69%	15	44
13	Illinois	$37,166	$59,113	119.95%	17	61.52%	29	19
50	Mississippi	$31,184	$41,994	119.09%	18	77.89%	4	51
36	Tennessee	$34,098	$48,289	118.72%	19	72.04%	9	42
4	Connecticut	$42,924	$69,766	116.33%	20	58.89%	37	4
26	Indiana	$34,696	$51,456	114.84%	21	66.74%	21	35
12	Delaware	$39,338	$59,679	114.30%	22	68.11%	17	24
46	New Mexico	$31,960	$46,573	114.07%	23	70.83%	13	46
7	Alaska	$44,166	$65,468	113.58%	24	58.80%	38	2
23	Georgia	$33,664	$52,880	112.89%	25	66.31%	22	39
20	Wisconsin	$33,546	$55,171	112.88%	26	60.53%	33	28
45	Arkansas	$32,691	$46,632	111.88%	27	76.38%	5	49
38	Texas	$38,091	$48,110	110.79%	28	67.45%	19	26
49	Oklahoma	$31,606	$44,128	110.32%	29	67.14%	20	43
18	Nevada	$35,358	$55,957	110.11%	30	67.99%	18	34
48	North Carolina	$30,778	$45,947	109.24%	31	60.59%	32	38
25	Iowa	$33,226	$51,528	108.51%	32	54.60%	42	16
43	North Dakota	$32,019	$47,344	108.21%	33	55.77%	40	25
42	Kansas	$33,386	$47,464	107.23%	34	60.85%	31	30
6	New Jersey	$48,631	$68,797	107.21%	35	71.14%	11	7
33	Idaho	$31,159	$49,734	107.20%	36	60.36%	34	36
37	Maine	$31,835	$48,119	106.84%	37	62.72%	26	40
30	Arizona	$31,874	$49,885	106.75%	38	61.01%	30	33
41	Missouri	$30,064	$47,517	106.42%	39	50.79%	46	22
44	Florida	$35,166	$46,944	105.62%	40	72.02%	10	41
8	Maryland	$43,235	$65,265	104.64%	41	58.75%	39	3
24	Vermont	$35,541	$52,526	101.75%	42	59.74%	36	21
35	Nebraska	$30,844	$48,931	101.67%	43	50.77%	47	18
22	Washington	$36,335	$53,571	100.25%	44	54.04%	44	9
17	Minnesota	$34,505	$56,268	98.09%	45	50.20%	48	6
32	Colorado	$32,126	$49,844	92.24%	46	48.24%	50	10
19	New Hampshire	$34,280	$55,599	91.92%	47	45.30%	51	1
31	Virginia	$37,848	$49,869	90.49%	48	61.56%	28	14
34	Utah	$33,081	$49,393	89.51%	49	49.93%	49	11
21	Hawaii	$41,027	$54,300	89.48%	50	63.59%	25	12
51	South Dakota	$29,851	$39,580	88.70%	51	54.21%	43	29

National Median Household Income Data

Rank	State	2015[42][43]	2009	2008	2007	2004–2006
47	Alabama	$44,509	$40,489	$42,666	$40,554	$38,473
2	Alaska	$75,112	$66,953	$68,460	$64,333	$57,639
33	Arizona	$52,248	$48,745	$50,958	$49,889	$46,729
49	Arkansas	$42,798	$40,489	$41,393	$42,229	$41,679
13	California	$63,636	$58,931	$61,021	$59,948	$53,770
10	Colorado	$66,596	$55,430	$56,993	$55,212	$54,039
4	Connecticut	$72,889	$67,034	$68,595	$65,967	$59,972
24	Delaware	$57,756	$56,860	$57,989	$54,610	$52,214
5	District of Columbia	$70,071	$59,290	$57,936	$54,317	$47,221
41	Florida	$48,825	$44,736	$47,778	$47,804	$44,448
39	Georgia	$50,768	$47,590	$50,861	$49,136	$46,841
12	Hawaii	$64,514	$64,098	$67,214	$63,746	$60,681
36	Idaho	$51,624	$44,926	$47,576	$46,253	$46,395
19	Illinois	$60,413	$53,966	$56,235	$54,124	$49,280
35	Indiana	$51,983	$45,424	$47,966	$47,448	$44,806
16	Iowa	$60,855	$48,044	$48,980	$47,292	$47,489
30	Kansas	$54,865	$47,817	$50,177	$47,451	$44,264
50	Kentucky	$42,387	$40,072	$41,538	$40,267	$38,466
45	Louisiana	$45,922	$42,492	$43,733	$40,926	$37,943
40	Maine	$50,756	$45,734	$46,581	$45,888	$45,040
3	Maryland	$73,594	$69,272	$70,545	$68,080	$62,372
8	Massachusetts	$67,861	$64,081	$65,401	$62,365	$56,236
31	Michigan	$54,203	$45,255	$48,591	$47,950	$47,064
6	Minnesota	$68,730	$55,616	$57,288	$55,082	$57,363
51	Mississippi	$40,037	$36,646	$37,790	$36,338	$35,261
22	Missouri	$59,196	$45,229	$46,867	$45,114	$44,651
37	Montana	$51,395	$42,322	$43,654	$43,531	$38,629
18	Nebraska	$60,747	$47,357	$49,693	$47,085	$48,126
34	Nevada	$52,008	$53,341	$56,361	$55,062	$50,819
1	New Hampshire	$75,675	$60,567	$63,731	$62,369	$60,489
7	New Jersey	$68,357	$68,342	$70,378	$67,035	$64,169
46	New Mexico	$45,119	$43,028	$43,508	$41,452	$40,827
23	New York	$58,005	$54,659	$56,033	$53,514	$48,201
38	North Carolina	$50,797	$43,674	$46,549	$44,670	$42,061
25	North Dakota	$57,415	$47,827	$45,685	$43,753	$43,753
32	Ohio	$53,301	$45,395	$47,988	$46,597	$45,837
43	Oklahoma	$47,077	$41,664	$42,822	$41,567	$40,001
17	Oregon	$60,834	$48,457	$50,169	$48,730	$45,485
20	Pennsylvania	$60,389	$49,520	$50,713	$48,576	$47,791
27	Rhode Island	$55,701	$54,119	$55,701	$53,568	$52,003
44	South Carolina	$46,360	$44,625	$43,329	$40,822	$39,454
29	South Dakota	$55,065	$45,043	$46,032	$43,424	$44,624
42	Tennessee	$47,330	$41,725	$43,614	$42,367	$40,676
26	Texas	$56,473	$48,259	$50,043	$47,548	$43,425
11	Utah	$66,258	$55,117	$56,633	$55,109	$55,179
21	Vermont	$59,494	$51,618	$52,104	$49,907	$51,622
14	Virginia	$61,486	$59,330	$61,233	$59,562	$55,108
9	Washington	$67,243	$56,548	$58,078	$55,591	$53,439
48	West Virginia	$42,824	$37,435	$37,989	$37,060	$37,227
28	Wisconsin	$55,425	$49,993	$52,094	$50,578	$48,874
15	Wyoming	$60,925	$52,664	$53,207	$51,731	$47,227

None of this necessarily suggests West Virginia teachers are not deserving of greater compensation and benefits. What the broader data picture does show is that they are not as ill treated as the case they are making claims. They have left the classroom at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. The ones most harmed by this poorly considered strike are the children they claim to place above all else in this world and their friends and neighbors in every community from Morgantown to Bluefield and Charles Town to Huntington.

Source for teacher compensation data:

https://articles.niche.com/teacher-salaries-in-america/

Source for Median Household Income data:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States