Discussion Paper #3

Maritza Guerrero

SOC 122 M/W 10:00 am

14 May 2018

Discussion Paper #3

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/5/people_have_just_had_enough_west

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/8/in_spain_women_launch_nationwide_feminist

From the first story, teachers in West Virginia go on a strike for reasons on better healthcare and the stop of low wages. The story shows a massive crowd of people protesting in the capital of West Virginia. Jay O'Neal, a teacher and Union Activist in West Virginia, goes into why teachers are going on strike explaining how the state has not been "funding" the insurance provided and is causing teachers cuts in pay along with other reasons for poor insurance. This is one of the main reasons for people in West Virginia coming together for the strike. Furthermore, Mike Elk, reporting on the strike, brought up a similar strike among coal miners that happened in past. Elk then goes in on the politics of the problem with a bill trying to be passed for a 5% raise for teachers. Elk also goes into how this strike is influencing other states to go on strike.One state mentioned is Oklahoma.

From the second story, countries from around the world celebrated International Women's Day in various ways to bring awareness to struggles that women are facing in the modern world. In Spain, women went on a work strike. A crowd of what seem almost all women, including mayors from two big cities in Spain, were chanting and banging spoons against pans. In South Korea, people were celebrating by bringing awareness to the "MeToo" movement. In England, women celebrated the anniversary for when women were granted the right to vote. These were only three major examples from the other counties that the story mentioned. The focus was put back on Spain as a Journalist in Spain explains why women went on a work strike. One of the reasons mentioned by Journalist Maria Carrion was the wage gap in Spain. Another one was to bring attention to the work that women in Spain do, and to show how it would be if women did not carry out there work as Carrion explained in the story.