'We Need To Learn From History': Virginia Workers Ask State To Not Erase Labor History [View all]

- NBC12, April 19, 2023. ‘We need to learn from history’: Va. workers ask state to not erase labor history.

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Virginia workers are calling on the State Board of Education to not erase labor history from Virginia schools. Virginia workers and labor union leaders representing over 300,000 state workers gathered Wednesday in downtown Richmond regarding the potential removal.

The group delivered more than 4,000 petitions. “These standards fail at every level, and while the board can try to whitewash history, I promise they will not ultimately succeed,” Virginia Education Association President James Fedderman said. On Wednesday, the board spent hours taking a deep-dive review of the proposal, breaking down the third draft by grade level.

The Virginia Department of Education says these revised standards would offer content specific to each grade that focuses on essential skills, state and national symbols, United States and world history. “A lot of people won’t understand what I think will happen here today,” Board President Daniel Grecker said. “I expect as we come out of today, people will have a greater appreciation for what the board’s thinking is on the standards, and hopefully being some in accord with where we’re going.”

Labor leader Doris Crouse-Mays is also one of many who spoke on Wednesday. “We need to learn from our history, not erase it,” she told NBC12. The president of Virginia AFL-CIO says the current draft no longer includes the rise of organized labor during the progressive era and the industrial revolution’s impact on the labor movement. “Labor built this state. Labor built this country. Everything was built on our backs. We’ll continue the fight to continue to have it in the history books,” Crouse-Mays said.

The Board of Education is set to have a final review of the standards during its next meeting on Thursday, April 20. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. and public comment will be accepted. --https://www.nbc12.com/2023/04/19/we-need-learn-history-va-workers-ask-state-not-erase-labor-history/