In Denver, teachers make major gains after a short 4-day strike. The Denver strike is part of a broader #RedforEd wave. The Denver gains build on those achieved by Los Angeles teachers last month.
Is Teach for America encouraging its Corps members to cross the picket line? Some 300 program alumni think so, even though the nonprofit says it was misunderstood.
In Denver, teachers in the 72,000-student district walked off the job Monday, the latest in a series of #RedforEd strikes.
Oakland, California may be the next district to join the chain of #RedforEd-supported strikes across the country. Teachers voted by a 95–5 margin this week to authorize a strike by the end of the month.
A new contract for Los Angeles teachers provides limited wage increases, but teachers made headway in areas where they said they needed support, including smaller class sizes and an increase in the number of librarians and nurses. A shift in city focus away from expanding charter schools is a likely strike result too.
Yesterday, a historic teachers’ strike began in Los Angeles Unified School District. Over 30,000 teachers went on strike for better pay, smaller classes, and support staff like librarians and nurses. Teachers are also calling for a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools, which have undermined the District’s ability to provide these things.
In supporting the Acero teachers’ strike, the union saw the need to empower teachers to defend their professional status and their importance to quality education.
Good leadership is situational. Sometimes consensus is called for, but what if the institution’s consensus is governed by a non-representative group of overseers? Sometimes, you may just have to step out in front and risk something.
It is common for activists to threaten to vote out recalcitrant elected officials. It is less common to succeed. Last spring in Oklahoma, 19 state legislators defied #RedForEd protests and voted for paltry salary increases. Now only four of the 19 are still in office.
In a rare bright spot for the US labor movement, unionization drives have succeeded at over 60 campuses across the country, helping lift often-depressed wages and working conditions.
