To My Sisters and Brothers in UTLA
“Look up! Look down! L.A. is a union town! Look up! Look down! L.A. is a union town!”
Congratulations!
I have said this many times to many people and I want to say it to you: I’ve never been so proud of my union. I don’t just mean our amazing leadership, all of whom are teachers and organizers, but also all of you, our rank and file.
81% turnout for the strike authorization vote and, of that, 98% for the “Yes”! Stunning!
I was chapter chair at my school in Watts during the ‘89 strike, and I don’t remember it being anywhere near this level of spirit. I couldn’t join you in striking this time because I retired in ‘05, but I was there as much as possible, and your spirit gave me more than I could have ever hoped to be able to contribute to you.
The ‘89 strike was over in nine striking days. Some predicted your strike would be over sooner because you were so unified; others said it would probably take more time because the stakes – saving public education from privitizers – were so high.
You did it in six days.
I miss getting on the train and calling out, “U.T.!” and hearing, “L.A.!” shouted back to me by a zillion voices from a zillion sisters and brothers in red t-shirts and high spirits.
I miss getting on the train and calling out, “U.T.!” and hearing, “L.A.!” shouted back to me by a zillion voices from a zillion sisters and brothers in red t-shirts and high spirits.
Though I will always cherish the memories, these things I already miss: I miss getting on the train and calling out, “U.T.!” and hearing, “L.A.!” shouted back to me by a zillion voices from a zillion sisters and brothers in red t-shirts and high spirits. When I get on a train now with a handful of quiet people, I miss us being crammed together, chanting, into one solid Red-for-Ed mass, only to see a thick wall of red out the window when we come to the next station, sisters and brothers waiting to get on.
And the several times since when I get off the train at the Civic Center station and enter Grand Park with only a few fellow human beings around me, separate from me and mostly from each other, I miss being able to see that gorgeous redness rolling like a never-ending mighty river of energy, emerging from the depths of that concrete cave and flowing into the CONTINUE READING: To My Sisters and Brothers in UTLA - LA Progressive
