Lessons from the LA Teachers Strike
By Jim Miller
After a little more than a week of striking, the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) captured the public’s imagination, helped transform the national narrative about education, won a solid new contract, and positioned themselves well for the battles to come.
For those of us in education this was an inspiring moment that showed the potential for smart organizing and activism to change the game in important ways.
As I wrote last week, UTLA was taking a lead from both the social movements of the sixties and other, more recent examples of militant protests and strikes by fellow educators elsewhere in the United States from Chicago to West Virginia.
The LA strike was a light in the greater darkness of the present American social and political landscape, and it offers some important lessons not just for teachers but for all unionists, Democratic politicians, and progressive activists moving forward.
What did we learn?
Social Justice Unionism Gets the Goods: By making real, solid community alliances and incorporating them into their demands, UTLA won over 80% approval by the public. Thus, despite decades of anti-union “teachers. vs the children” narratives promoted by corporate education reformers and frequently parroted by the media, the teachers’ efforts to reach out to parents, community groups, and other allies paid off big time with an incredible display of solidarity coming from all quarters in Los Angeles and the country at large. That doesn’t happen by accident; it takes long, hard, savvy organizing and commitment to a broader vision of social justice than simple bread and butter unionism allows.
As a recent Nation (insert link: https://www.thenation.com/article/los-angeles-teachers-strike-utla-organizing-solidarity/) piece on the teachers’ organizing efforts observes:
UTLA’s strategy has hinged upon making sure that their message is heard by parents, CONTINUE READING: Lessons from the LA Teachers Strike