Lars Larson: WA Teachers on illegal strike

By Lars Larson,
NW and national radio host,

450 teachers went on strike, illegally, this week in Camas. And we know why.

During Covid, cash came in a flood from congress, districts went on a hiring spree, schools closed and kids and taxpayers got ripped off.

The cash ran out, and a lot of parents pulled their kids out of failed schools.

Fewer students means fewer staff, right?

Teachers’ unions refuse staff cuts.

So, teachers demand a raise and smaller classes, despite test scores that show government schools fail too many students in basic subjects.

I respected the union-represented public school teachers who taught me math back at Tillamook High…”Go Cheesemakers”!

They didn’t put up with nonsense and cheating…so when Camas teachers try to pull a numerical fast one, I think we should call them out.

Here’s the math. 72-hundred Camas students and 450 teachers equals an average of one teacher for every 16 students.

If some classes have 38 kids, as the striking teachers claim, that’s just bad management…so maybe we fire some administrators too.

But violating Washington law with an illegal strike to demand better pay and benefits and less work…that’s a non-starter for me.