Washington teachers have taken the lead in spreading the public education strike wave to the so-called “blue states.” Inspired by the examples of West Virginia and Arizona, and emboldened by the Washington legislature’s court-mandated infusion of $2 billion into the school system, educators across the state have begun the school year with over a dozen successful strikes that have forced school board and superintendents to concede important pay increases ranging from 10 to 20 percent.

Yet a number of school districts remain recalcitrant — and have actually turned to repression to force their educators back to work.

With roughly 400 educators and 6,000 students, Tumwater, Washington is not a large school district. But the town’s work stoppage, begun on September 1, has important implications for the broader strike wave currently sweeping public education.