Teacher strike in Oklahoma stretches into second day

Oklahoma teachers on strike.
(Image credit: J Pat Carter/Getty Images)

Thousands of teachers rallied Tuesday at Oklahoma's state Capitol for the second day of a walkout, demanding increased salaries and state funding for schools.

Teachers want an additional $150 million in school funding, after a 16 percent pay increase from legislators last week failed to meet their full demands. Oklahoma teachers have an average salary of around $42,460, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows, putting them in 48th place in average U.S. classroom teacher salary. Lawmakers say that they won't budge because they've already granted an additional $50 million in school funding.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.