时代周刊:红州教师游行背后（在线收听）

Inside the revolt of the red-state teachers

红州教师游行背后

THE TEACHERS WHO FLOODED THE Oklahoma state capitol by the thousands this month

本月，俄克拉荷马州的教师们走出教室，

had the same message for lawmakers as did teachers in Kentucky and West Virginia

加入某些专家所谓的“一场史无前例的教师行动潮”，

when they recently walked out of classrooms

而齐头涌入俄克拉荷马州州府时，

as part of what some experts are describing as an unprecedented wave of activism.

他们想要传递给立法者们的信息和肯塔基州、西弗吉尼亚州的同行是一样的。

"I think we forgot for a while how important it is to use our voice,"

“在我看来，我们忘记呐喊的重要性已经有一阵子了。”

says Alicia Priest, head of the Oklahoma Education Association,

俄克拉荷马州教育协会主席艾丽西亚`普里斯特说，

which is calling for pay raises and a reversal of education cuts.

该协会现在正在呼吁增加教师工资，上调教育经费。

"We've got to fund our classrooms, "

“我们要出钱维持课堂正常进行，

and if that takes stepping out of our schoolhouses, our maintenance buildings, our bus barns, our cafeterias, to make this happen,

如果需要走出我们的校舍，走出我们的维修大楼，走出我们的公共汽车站，走出我们的食堂才能实现这一点的话，

then that's what we'll do."

那我们走就是了。”

It's no coincidence, says Jon Shelton, a University of Wisconsin–Green Bay assistant professor who has studied the history of teacher strikes,

最近这些劳工行动登上保守州的各大头条并非巧合，

that these recent labor actions are making headlines in politically conservative states.

威斯康辛大学格林湾分校研究教师罢工史的助理教授乔恩·谢尔顿说到。

"In red states, you've seen the deepest cuts,

“红州是削减教育经费削减得最厉害的，

and you combine that with a commitment by the GOP and by Republicans not to raise taxes under any circumstances," Shelton says.

当你将这一事实和共和党以及共和党人所做的任何时候都不增税的承诺一联系，”谢尔顿说，

"I think teachers in those states are fed up with austerity. They're fed up with disinvestment in public schools."

“我想，那些州的教师们是受够了紧缩政策，受够了公立学校投资紧缩这一问题了。”

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed a bill on March 29

俄克拉荷马州州长玛丽·法林3月29日签署了一项法案，

giving teachers an average raise of $6,100, funded by taxes on cigarettes and motor fuel as well as oil and gas production—

规定教师工资平均上涨6100美元，这笔钱将由香烟、汽车燃料以及石油和天然气带来的税收承担——

the state's first major tax hike in nearly 30 years.

该州近30年来首次大幅增税了。

But teachers say it's not enough to make up for years of stagnant wages.

但教师们表示，这一举措还是不足以弥补多年来教师工资停滞不前的问题。

Those in Oklahoma, WestVirginia and Arizona—

俄克拉荷马州，西弗吉尼亚州和亚利桑那州——

which rank among the worst states for teacher pay, per the National Education Association—

根据美国国家教育协会的统计，在教师薪酬方面，这些州都在排名最靠后的地区之列——

have spoken out about working second jobs and using their own money for classroom supplies.

三个州的教师们都公开表示，他们都需要兼职或者掏自己的腰包来买教室用品。

In Kentucky, where teachers aren't eligible for Social Security benefits, protests have focused on pensions.

在教师没有资格享受社保的肯塔基州，抗议的焦点围绕的是养老金。

Facing growing class sizes, outdated technology and underfunded programs,

面对班级规模不断扩大、技术落后、项目经费不足等问题，

teachers also say they're frustrated by budget cuts.

教师们还表示，他们对政府削减教育经费的做法感到非常沮丧。

Some states are trying to get ahead of the wave—

一些州正试图走在潮流的前面——

New Mexico, which also ranks among states with the lowest teacher pay, passed a raise in March—

比如也在教师工资最低的地区之列的新墨西哥州就已经在今年3月通过了加薪法案——

but teachers who have rallied in Arizona could be next to formally strike,

亚利桑那州集会的教师则可能走上正式罢工之路，

and Shelton thinks teachers in some blue states could follow.

而一些蓝州的教师，谢尔顿认为，则可能效仿他们的做法。