WEDDINGTON, NC - One North Carolina lawmaker is calling educators traveling to Raleigh this week to protest more funding for schools 'teacher union thugs,' and claiming they're an inconvenience to thousands of parents.
Union County Republican representative Mark Brody made the comments in a Facebook post on Friday afternoon. The remarks were made toward the thousands of teachers expected to go to Raleigh on Wednesday, May 16 for the 'March for Students and Rally for Respect' event.
'Union County teachers choose to inconvenience near 30,000 parents in order to pressure the General Assembly to increase their pay!' the post starts.
Union County Schools have an optional teacher workday on Wednesday. WBTV reports around half the teachers in the county called out to attend the rally.
The district's superintendent made the decision Friday afternoon saying "this number of absences creates safety and security concerns for our schools."
According to organizers, Wednesday's rally is intended to call for increasing teacher pay and investment in public education, lowering staff ratios in schools, and decreasing class sizes.
Since the announcement of the rally, more than 30 school districts across North Carolina have had to close on Wednesday, including many in the Triad.
Brody says teachers are choosing to "inconvenience" parents in order "to pressure the General Assembly to increase their pay."
"Let's call this what it is, Teacher Union thugs want to control the education process!" Brody wrote. "I am speaking up because I don't want Union County schools, and for that matter all NC school systems, to turn into Chicago. Let the Union thugs get their way now and we are halfway there."
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