West Virginia teacher strike: No raise, no class

Unions representing West Virginia teachers and service personnel say they will stay out on strike after the state Senate voted to cut the 5 percent pay raise they had negotiated with the governor.

A joint legislative committee has been formed to address differences in the pay raise bills of the state Senate and House.

In a joint statement Saturday, the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, West Virginia Education Association and the School Service Personnel Association said Senate President Mitch Carmichael and his leadership team had left them with no choice after they voted to reduce the raise to 4 percent.

The statement said all public schools in West Virginia would be closed again Monday “and remain closed until the Senate honors the agreement that was made.” Teachers walked out of classrooms statewide starting Feb. 22.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted Saturday evening to approve the lower pay raise, bucking teachers, Republican Gov. Jim Justice and the Republican-controlled House, which approved the 5 percent raise Wednesday. search of more victims.

The building contained 18 apartments and housed 40 residents, according to firefighters’ spokesman Slawomir Brandt, who gave the death toll.

Polish TV channel TVP INFO showed part of a four-story building in a heap and rescuers checking the debris in sub-freezing temperatures. The search was expected to continue until Monday.

Regional governor Zbigniew Hoffman said it was too early to determine the cause of the collapse, but added that a gas explosion was one possible explanation.