Government unions are making a play to sway the U.S. Supreme Court in one of its biggest cases of the year, and they’re using public school children as their pawns.

This week, hundreds of Kentucky teachers walked off the job and to the state Capitol, protesting against proposed changes intended to shore up to the state’s woefully underfunded public pension system. Before them, educators across West Virginia went on strike, keeping kids home for nearly two weeks until Governor Jim Justice agreed to a 5 percent pay raise for all government workers.