Not a Strike? Teacher Walkout Activists Call NCDPI Superintendent a ‘SCAB’

RALEIGH – The Teacher Walkout scheduled for next Wednesday, resulting in multiple school system closures and hundreds of thousands of kids NOT learning, has been criticized by Republican leaders in the General Assembly as coming uncomfortably close to union activity.

Unionization of public agencies in North Carolina is illegal, and leaders from the N.C. Association of Educators have pushed back against characterizations of the walkout as a strike:

“The goal is never to strike or walk out. The goal is to change education policy,” said NCAE President Mark Jewel just days ago.

But while the NCAE maintains that the walkout isn’t a strike, supporters of the walkout are using the language of union thugs to describe Superintendent of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction Mark Johnson for his decision not to join the protest.

#NCPOL Let’s make @MarkRJohnsonNC famous. Educators are heading to Raleigh. We are so close to shutting down #Forsyth county, and several others! Join us. Let’s win! #NCGA #TeacherApppreciationDay #NCEd #Scab #ItsPersonal #MakeItHappen #Red4Ed #May16 pic.twitter.com/QpXAHRYQC3

— Robert Corriher (@robertcorriher) May 9, 2018

A ‘scab’ in this context, according to Merriam-Webster is:

1 : a worker who refuses to join a labor union. 2 : a union member who refuses to strike or returns to work before a strike has ended. 3 : a worker who accepts employment or replaces a union worker during a strike : strike breaker. 

I thought it wasn’t a strike?

Johnson, a Republican, will not be attending the glorified Democrat protest next Wednesday to agitate for higher teacher pay and Medicaid expansion (?). Johnson summed up pretty well, through a spokesman, why abandoning students during school hours to participate in political activity isn’t the best way to complain about five pay raises enacted by Republicans.

“On teacher pay
Pay is important. Teacher salaries have increased each of the last four years — outpacing inflation every year — and North Carolina is one of the top states for fastest rising teacher pay. We are on the right track, and I am pleased teachers will receive another raise next year. In a booming state economy, we need to keep boosting teacher pay to attract and keep talented teachers.

On closing schools on May 16
These are local decisions made with the safety of students in mind, but I hope more school boards do not have to close schools that day. We all know this affects students, parents, and other school employees. Protesting is a right, but it can be just as effective during non-school hours.”

For this reasonable approach to the issue of teacher pay and walkouts (strikes), Johnson is being labeled by the Left as a scab.

And a fascist:

What does bold governance in the face of fascism look like? THIS! What does Pro-Education look like? THIS. #WCPSS #Red4Ed #NCPOL #MAY16 #TeacherAppreciationWeek– for real! https://t.co/UhF7wcAlPB

— Stephanie Lormand (@stephlormand) May 7, 2018

This is the language of union thugs, socialist labor movements, and communists. Throughout the history of such movements, scabs have been treated to slashed tires, beatings, death threats, and attempted murder.

Just one example in the not so distant past: Jon King, an owner of one of Toledo, Ohio’s largest non-union electrical contractors, was labeled a ‘scab’ before being shot by union thugs.

“King says that he walked outside in the middle of the night to discover an individual painting the word “scab” on his vehicle. After yelling at the individual to stop, he heard a shot and dropped to the ground. Luckily, he was able to get to a phone inside the home to call authorities (in fact, he didn’t even realize he had been shot until police and paramedics arrived).”

Is this what the Left in North Carolina is alluding to when they label Mark Johnson a scab and a fascist? Does the NCAE view Johnson as a scab? A fascist?

The leaders of the NCAE and hardcore activists are using teacher pay to advance a dangerous kind of collectivist thought, and if you disagree you might be a mere fascist that hates kids and teachers.