NYC, NY – On April 26, a dedicated group of rank-and-file organizers from the MORE Caucus, the opposition caucus within the United Federation of Teachers, held their annual “State of Our Union” event, in the City University of New York Grad Center, where they sum up the year of union organizing and prepare for what’s to come.

Issues discussed were the specific struggles that MORE members are waging in their union chapters, a report from the MORE steering committee, and the new 2027 contract campaign.

Regarding the growing contract campaign, MORE members strategized around how to use the new contract battle as a way to organize rank-and-file coworkers, do political education and contract education, how to involve the community that they serve in their contract struggle, and how and when to engage in a struggle against UFT leadership to meet the demands of rank-and-file unionists. They also discussed the possibility of struggling for some form of open bargaining, as opposed to the UFT’s current very closed bargaining strategy.

The “State of Our Union” event served as a positive review of what was accomplished, and a critical look at what can be improved in the caucus’s organizing in the future.

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #UFT #MORE #Teachers

Los Angeles, CA – Over 30,000 members of United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), SEIU 99, and Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) came together in downtown Los Angeles at a rally on March 16 in a powerful display of unity, demanding the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) shift their budget priorities and agree to a decent contract. If the district does not settle the contract, teachers, school staff and administrators are prepared to strike on April 14.

LAUSD is the second largest school district in the nation. The district has had a proposal for a contract for over a year and has not offered any reasonable offer to address union demands. Key issues include increasing salaries, reducing class sizes and improving staffing levels.

According to UTLA, “LAUSD started off the school year with $5.03 billion in reserves. Since 2022, they’ve committed $10 billion to multi-year private contracts.”

“This would be my first ever strike,” commented LAUSD middle and high school teacher Kate Regan. “I love teaching – it is my dream job. I want the district to respect my work and my students by offering a contract that is fair – I am more than ready to strike to make that a reality. Defending public education is incredibly important.”

Centro CSO members rallied in solidarity carrying a large banner with the slogans support public education and support all education workers.

Antonieta Garcia co-chair of the education committee for Centro CSO commented, “We need to unite and support UTLA/SEIU 99, they represent our public education system.”

#LosAngelesCA #CA #Labor #UTLA #SEIU #AALA #Strike #Teachers

New York City, NY – On Wednesday February 11, in the frigid cold of Manhattan’s financial district, rank-and-file unionists held a speakout in front of United Federation of Teachers headquarters, while the union’s monthly delegate assembly was being held. The action sought to put pressure on union leadership to do more to support immigrant students, families and staff from ICE attacks.

The speakout coincided with an “Immigrants Rights Week of Action in Schools” organized by the MORE Caucus (Movement of Rank and File Educators) which included sending mass emails to UFT top brass to pressure them to do more on the immigrant rights issue.

The teachers chanted “When immigrant students are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “Legalization for all, say it from the union hall!” Calling out UFT President Michael Mulgrew by name, they shouted “Mulgrew Mulgrew hear our cry, we want support and that’s no lie!”

The teachers gave speeches comparing the militant anti-ICE actions of other teachers’ unions—like in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and the leading immigrant rights work done by the Chicago Teachers Union and United Teachers Los Angeles—to the work of their own union in NYC.

They brought attention to the lack of funding and centralized guidance of the immigrant defense committees which have formed at various school sites in NYC after the election of Donald Trump in 2025. The UFT passed a resolution at their delegate assembly in June of that year rhetorically supporting the creation of the committees, but the teachers say they are lacking material support from their union leadership.

Ismael Ali Moussa, a Bronx teacher who participated in the action, said, “Wednesday’s speakout outside the UFT was a powerful reminder that when we come together and raise our voices collectively, we can’t be ignored. It wasn’t just about making noise; it was about standing in solidarity for our community but most importantly our immigrant students! Being there showed me how much energy and determination there is among us to fight for real change and demand for change.”

#NewYorkCityNY #NY #Labor #UFT #Teachers #MORE

Chicago, IL – Leaders and rank-and-file members of the Chicago Teachers Union were joined by community supporters on Tuesday January 27, as they celebrated recent and historical victories won by CTU and the movement to defend public education. They also recognized the need to build ongoing struggles against ICE, racist policing and for fully funded public services.

“Unions are under attack because we refuse to be silent,” said, elementary school teacher Ashley Harris, explaining why CTU is currently being investigated by the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

“Our union understands that protecting public education is protecting racial justice,” Harris added.

“Having a teacher’s union that defends students and communities is not optional. It's a necessity,” said Rocio Garcia with the Grassroots Collaborative.

Two students addressed the rally by describing how the CTU Environmental Justice Freedom School, a yearly summer program for high school students, empowered them to organize for a just future. Together with other students and community members, they have taken the demand for fully-funded public schools to the Chicago Board of Education and the state capitol in Springfield.

“We want change and we will fight for it,” said one of the students.

The students were introduced by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who explained the policies of his administration by saying “we are centering the needs of young people and working people.”

Johnson touted record low crime rates and investments in schools, parks, and public libraries as evidence of the effectiveness of investing in communities. He added “when we talk about investing in communities, that money has to come from the ultra-rich.”

Stacy Davis Gates ended the night by calling to the history of the battle for public education. She recounted how Jitu Brown, who was in attendance, went from sleeping outside the Board of Education in protest to being an elected board member. She also linked the ongoing fight to save public education with the coalition of freed slaves and white abolitionists who built the first public education system in the South during Reconstruction.

“Our work is rooted in the spirit of Fred Hampton,” Gates declared. She spoke about the work CTU has done in building solidarity in Chicago and affirmed that this work would grow throughout Illinois during her tenure as president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

“We are going school to school, neighborhood to neighborhood, city to city and teaching people that the answer to their problems comes not from Democrats or Republicans, but from the solidarity of workers,” Gates proclaimed.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #CTU #Teachers

New York, NY – The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) led a Midtown Manhattan rally and march of thousands through the bitter cold in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis, January 23. Many major local labor unions endorsed and attended the action, as well as many other progressive organizations.

The murder of Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent sparked a chain of events that included the raiding of a school by ICE, the subsequent closing of local schools, and the unequivocal condemnation of Trump’s attacks on immigrants by many Minneapolis unions, including the Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE).

Due to rank-and-file pressure, the UFT also condemned the attacks, and planned a rally and march for January 23, the same day that many unions and other organizations in Minneapolis planned to disrupt business as usual by refusing to work, shop, or go to school.

UFT members wore black to work that day, and many schools and other groups developed contingents to attend the rally together, and took time out of the workday to make signs and take pictures together showing their solidarity with Minneapolis.

The MORE Caucus (Movement of Rank and File Educators), the main progressive reform caucus within the UFT, also organized a contingent, largely made up of members who do immigrant rights work and Palestine solidarity work within the schools and within their union.

Militant teacher unionists marched and chanted “Money for jobs and education, not for war and deportation!” and “La migra, la policía, la misma porquería!”

The actions of teachers and students ranged far and wide throughout the boroughs of NYC. NYU students led by NYU Students for a Democratic Society led a walk out in solidarity.

In Brooklyn, MORE Caucus teachers in collaboration with parents of immigrant students organized a multi-school “Children’s March”, which was attended by elementary school students, teachers and the parent communities of schools in the Flatbush/Kensington area. Featured at the action were anti-ICE opinion statements written by impacted students and parents, and speeches from teachers who connected the fight against ICE with the labor movement.

Beth McCune, one of the organizers of the Children’s March and a member of the MORE Caucus said, “Seeing this neighborhood action come together so successfully on such short notice was powerful because it shows us that educators, parents and our surrounding community are united in our desire to keep immigrants safe. We must continue to work together to hold the DOE and our city accountable with tangible measures that make it possible for families and children to attend school without fear.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #Teachers #ImmigrantRights #AlexPretti #ReneeGood #MORE

Englewood, CO – On December 10, the Sheridan Educators Association (SEA) held a press conference outside of their district’s administration building to demand that the district resume recognition of the longstanding teachers union, a contract, and an end to union-busting tactics.

Over 100 people gathered from unions and workplaces across the area in support of the teachers, including members of Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Sheridan Classified Educators, Teamsters, UFCW grocery workers, local insulators, masons, and educators from Englewood, Cherry Creek and Littleton.

SEA President Kate Biester said, “We have representation from every kind of worker from across this metro area because when you mess with one of us, you mess with us all.”

Staff member Hannah Johnston spoke to the crowd about why SEA is speaking out. Johnston said since last May, the district has been unresponsive to concerns from teachers and staff about safety, position cuts and low pay. The teachers have been working without a contract for over 130 days. On winter days with 90-minute delays due to unsafe road conditions, teachers have been expected to come into school at their usual start time, despite unsafe driving conditions. These concerns have been ignored by the district and Superintendent Gionni Thompson.

In addition, three teaching positions and two paraprofessional positions were cut, but the work from these positions did not go away, and staff were expected to take on the extra workload. In August, when staff spoke out against the position cuts at a board meeting, board member Juanita Camacho called the staff “whiny.” The district has offered a 1% increase in Sheridan teachers' wages, but insurance costs have risen high enough that even with the increase, teachers would be taking home less pay than they did one year ago.

Johnston closed out by saying, “Asking for professional respect, safety, and fair wages is not only our responsibility but our right. We do not have contracts; our teachers are taking home less pay than they ever have, and communication from leadership only surfaces under pressure. Our students are suffering the consequences.”

Superintendent Thompson stated that the district leadership has been doing its part, and stalling negotiations was the union's fault due to missed meetings. SEA President Biester spoke up to set the record straight about the missed meetings the district was referring to, saying, “The district has been and continues to make disingenuous claims that they have offered to return to the table for negotiations. The district told teachers they would only engage in mediation if we agreed that any employees would be fired if they did any union activity whatsoever.”

Biester continued, “The other condition was that the district could go line by line and redline whatever they wanted out of our contract. They wanted to take out any provisions they didn't like. Again, I want to be clear that these were two conditions we would have had to agree to before they would even sit down to meet with us, so if you are asked why we missed those meetings, it was because those are unacceptable conditions that I would never agree to for my workers.

A relevant document from the district reads, “There will be no strike, picketing, picket line observance, work slowdown, or other concerted work-related activity by members of the association that impairs the classroom performance of the members of the association. Any person who engages in such actions may be subject to immediate discharge or other discipline.”

Kevin Vick, a high school social studies teacher and president of Colorado Education Association, closed out the event by saying, “Colorado educators, parents and communities will no longer stand for school districts' attack on the very public schools they are meant to serve and support. We call on the board to immediately reinstate union recognition and work in good faith to create a new agreement.”

Vick continued, “As a statewide union and the voice for teachers and other educators across Colorado, we are standing with Sheridan educators, and so are our colleagues and other Coloradans across the state. And make no mistake – people are watching. Restore the contract!“

#EnglewoodCO #CO #Labor #Teachers #SEA

Chicago, IL – On December 20, over 175 people gathered in the Chicago Teachers Union Hall to stand in solidarity with Gustavo Petro and the people of Colombia as their country faces an intensification of U.S. aggression.

Petro has had his visa revoked by the Trump administration, and the country is seeing attacks in the form of sanctions, tariffs and military threats. These attacks have been because of his un-fearful stance against U.S. imperialism, from calling out the U.S./Israel’s genocide in Gaza to defending the sovereignty of Latin American nations. Petro is a popular and progressive internationalist.

In attendance were members of the Colombian consulate, progressive Chicago politicians, and leaders in the people's struggle, speaking on what Colombia needs from the people of Chicago.

Our solidarity must be concrete as well

“We must stand in solidarity with Gustavo Petro and the beautiful people of Colombia, as they have stood with Palestinians in Gaza and beyond, with forces fighting for climate and environmental justice, as they have stood with their neighbors in Venezuela who are in the crosshairs of the U.S. military,” said Hatem Abudayyeh from the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN).

Abudayyeh continued, “Together we will reject sanctions, threats, intervention and war against the people of Colombia.”

Daniel Garcia-Peña, the Colombian ambassador to the United States, spoke on the achievements that Colombia has made under the leadership of Petro. He also spoke of the need for solidarity with the nation during rising tensions. Peña stated, “We are very concerned about what is happening in the Caribbean. It’s a clear sign of how the U.S. is threatening not only Venezuela but all of Latin America, which continue to be seen as a backyard that can be trampled on.”

Garcia-Peña noted “But me and President Petro have been clear, times are different. Colombians and Latin Americans are not going to stand for interventionism as they may have happened in the past. We need each other's solidarity. Palestinians can count on Colombians, but we also need the world to stand with Colombians and our Latin American neighbors in these trying times.”

Speakers from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), the Anti-War Committee (AWC) and the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA) also spoke, representing the progressive movements which they work in.

Alderperson Byron Sicho-Lopez echoed the message of late Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton on the need for solidarity. Lopez introduced the resolution commemorating the historic 2024 visit of Petro to Chicago – a city that, much like Colombia, is a beacon of hope in the resistance against the reactionary Trump administration.

#ChicagoIL #IL #International #Colombia #AntiWarMovement #CAARPR #AWCChicago #CATA #CTU #Labor #Teachers

New York, NY – The MORE Caucus (Movement of Rank and File Educators), the opposition caucus within the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), held their third General Assembly of the school year, December 3.

More than 40 teachers from all five boroughs gathered to air grievances and organize around the current state of teachers’ curriculum autonomy, which is the ability for teachers to exercise control over what and how they teach in the classroom. Specifically, the assembly addressed recent regulations enforcing scripted curriculums that remove the human element from teaching. These have been rolled out in different ways in different parts of the city, with some teachers being hit harder than others.

The meeting began with a brief overview of the financial interests involved in determining what students are taught, showing how public education has become increasingly privatized in the U.S. This web of interests included various “charitable” foundations, right-wing think tanks, and private institutions – names such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, and Johns Hopkins Institute for Educational Policy. These institutions all have their hands in developing and advocating for using certain curriculums in the New York City public school system, rather than schoolteachers who know their students.

The assembly included a panel where union organizers and chapter leaders shared their experiences fighting against the new aggressive regulations on curriculum. They mentioned tactics such as holding the line of non-compliance, getting UFT leadership involved, and rallying behind unfairly disciplined coworkers.

After breaking out into groups, teachers shared their different experiences across the city. Some teachers mentioned how their principals and administration seemed glad to use curriculum autonomy as a way to enforce tight controls on the teachers. Other people mentioned their dismay at having their teaching skills taken away from them by a robotic set of actions and words or being expected to teach conflicting curricula. Overall, the teachers at the assembly expressed the indignity of the situation and their drive to fight back in their schools.

To conclude, the assembly shared their takeaways and next steps to bring back to their union organizing. These included district-wide mass filing of grievances for missed prep time, starting or developing advocacy groups with concerned parents, and teachers taking control of their professional development away from administrators.

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #Teachers #MORE #UFT

Negotiations between MFE59 members and the school district’s negotiating team included months of bargaining with countless proposals and counter-proposals as well as mediation sessions to try to reach a deal. Now after all of that negotiating there is finally a tentative agreement on the table for MFE 59’s members, who will be voting this week to either ratify or reject the agreement.

Across the city, educators, families and community supporters of strong public schools had been organizing alongside MFE59 for Minneapolis to be what they called a “destination district.” Minneapolis Families for Public Schools organized a rally of hundreds of student families in solidarity with MFE59. Additionally, more than 120 Minneapolis-based community organizations – including mosques, synagogues and churches – signed on in support of the union’s contract fight.

The contract fight saw a variety of actions by MFE59 members, including six coordinated rallies across the city and many pickets held at the Davis Center where bargaining was taking place.

While the educators built strong community support for their strike, ultimately the teachers and education support professionals who work for the district voted to withhold their labor and strike, which was at the core of the fight.

On November 1, MFE59 announced the results of a strike vote, and by a powerful 92% majority the members voted to strike. Turnout for the vote was also 92% which is extremely high participation for this type of vote. This sent a clear statement that Minneapolis educators were willing to do what it took to reach a strong contract. 

The MFE59 members were prepared to walk out onto the picket line starting Tuesday, November 11. The sentiment and resolve of the members across the union was unified.

MFE59 represents three bargaining units: Adult Education Teachers, Licensed Teachers, and Education Support Professionals. Some of the things that MFE59 was fighting for were wage increases, pay parity for adult education teachers, enforceable caps to class sizes, and holiday and break pay as well as increases to sick time for education support professionals.

While exact details of the tentative agreement are not being made public yet by the union, MFE59 will be holding informational sessions for its members this week to go over details of the agreement before a member vote on whether the tentative agreement will be ratified. The union has said that the new agreement includes smaller and enforceable class sizes, more support for special education and caseload limits, pay increases for all educators and other wins.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Labor #Teachers #MFE59

NYC, NY – On November 5t, in Midtown Manhattan, the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE Cacus), the opposition caucus within the United Federation of Teachers, held their second General Assembly of the year. The event was called “Hands Off Our Schools: Building Union Power Under Authoritarianism” and heard from at least 40 teachers from across all 5 NYC Boroughs.

First, an introduction was made to what was meant by the word “authoritarianism”. Tech oligarchy, billionaires, the religious far right, and the use of repression and violence by a small elite were mentioned in the presentation.

Next, a panel took place with two MORE members discussing a recent resolution called “Hands Off Our Schools”, which was adopted by the UFT at the October delegate assembly. The resolution was drafted by rank-and-file teachers and MORE members after the election of Donald Trump and called on the union to oppose all attacks to public education, to education workers and to students, in all their forms. After considerable stonewalling and stalling from UFT leadership, when the resolution was presented to the delegate assembly, it was adopted with a 97% majority vote.

It was emphasized by the MORE Cacus how much opposition they face from union leadership in even being able have a resolution added to the agenda, let alone to have one voted on.

Teachers spoke and shared ideas in small groups and as a whole assembly. When discussing how authoritarianism manifests in their workplaces and lives, some mentioned curriculum mandates and the push for AI in education, the cutting off of SNAP benefits, and the threat of ICE raids and arrests.

When asked about what goals the unionists had, a lively discussion ensued where members shared “building a union which is strike ready,” “protecting our students,” “give our students what they need,” “be able to teach about Gaza” and many other ideas.

In order to meet these goals, the unionists emphasized that it was necessary to struggle against UFT leadership, who aren’t doing anything to uphold progressive resolutions that have passed. Equally stressed was the importance of mobilizing the rank and file of unions, using militant tactics including striking, and focusing on shop floor struggles which are directly tied to the workplace.

The educators left the meeting inspired and ready with ideas to take back to their workplaces and chapter meetings, to continue the fight against threats to their jobs and to public education.

#NewYorkCityNY #NY #Labor #Teachers #MORE #UFT

Springfield, IL – Four buses departed from the parking lot of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) headquarters at sunrise on Wednesday morning, October 29. They carried hundreds of educators, students and parents to the State Capitol in Springfield where they joined people from all over the state mobilized by the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). All united to demand fully funded schools across the state.

“We have rank-and-file members from all over the state of Illinois,” IFT President Stacy Davis Gates said at a fiery press conference on the steps of the Capitol. “We have people here who are walking children back and forth from school because of ICE. We have people who spend more money on materials for the kids than their district does.”

Wednesday was the fifth day of the Illinois legislature's fall veto session. Unions and community organizations attended the veto session to demand funding for public education, transportation and healthcare, issues that legislators neglected in the spring session.

“The punchline is, we need to tax the rich,” Davis Gates continued. Other newly elected leaders of IFT and educators from across Illinois reiterated the need to make the rich pay for public services.

After the press conference, IFT members and allies flooded the building to get commitments from legislators to fight for fully-funded schools.

“Nothing is more important than making sure we're fully funded because we don't know what will happen by the end of the year,” Amaziah Burton, a special education teacher from Chicago, said after speaking to several state representatives who have not prioritized funds for education.

“Governor Pritzker’s kids will never know what it feels like to have no social worker and no books in the school. That's why he says there's no money,” Burton added. She then cited Trump's efforts to destroy public education, and the state's evidence based funding formula which says Illinois schools need over $3 billion more to be adequately funded.

“Illinois universities were already in a weakened state because of a lack of state funding and now we're under attack by the Trump admin. They're coming after diversity and inclusion programs and research grants and the system is already bare bones, so we have to get more support at the state level,” explained Aaron Krall, a UIC professor and the president of UIC United Faculty, a local of IFT. Krall and other IFT higher education members called on Pritzker to release $25 million currently being withheld from the state's universities.

“My group's main reason for being in Springfield is to promote the funding of transportation, but all our issues are connected,” said Lena Mackley, a member of the People's Lobby and a middle school teacher in the West Suburbs. “This country has all the money in the world, but we don't let it benefit our own communities. Instead, we give it to Israel.

“While American school unions protest their local governments for adequate funding, Israeli citizens enjoy free education at the expense of the American taxpayer. Even the special education programs in Palestine are struggling to support their special education population because American taxes fund the bombing of schools there instead of building up the schools here,” Mackley, who is Palestinian, explained the experience of teachers in her family in Palestine.

The buses drove back to Chicago as the sun went down. Educators and allies went home committed to building the fight against the Trump agenda and all state and local policies that steal from workers and give to billionaires.

#SpringfieldIL #IL #Labor #Teachers #IFT #CTU

New York, NY – On October 24, in Midtown Manhattan the NYC Educators For Palestine convened an event to launch their divestment campaign for the new school year.

The Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) for the Ccty of New York currently holds $112million of stock in Israeli companies. The “TRS Divest” campaign, made in combination with teachers in the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York (PSC-CUNY), seeks to bring more teachers into the fold to organize against their retirement funds being invested in Israeli stocks, including notorious weapons manufacturers such as Elbit Systems.

The group of over 40 people ready to get to action. These included members of the UFT, as well as its minority caucus The Movement of Rank and File Educators, in addition to professors, and CUNY graduate students organizing for the CUNY Fired Four – four adjunct professors at Brooklyn College who were fired for their support for Palestine earlier this year.

The organizers’ presentation exposed the active investments in Israeli companies and highlighted successful TRS divestment campaigns in the past in New York City, such as those against South African apartheid, and against companies helping to wage the war against Vietnam.

NYC Educators For Palestine also gave background on their previous courses of action. These included appeals to the TRS board of trustees, getting three members as UFT appointees to divest, holding protests against the board meetings after being shut out, and now the campaign to raise awareness about TRS investments in Israeli firms and collect enough signatures from teachers in New York City in order to pressure the board into divestment.

The attending teachers split into breakout groups to learn more about how to speak to their coworkers about Palestine, possible reprisals that may be taken against them by their administration or fellow teachers, and developing ideas on how to broaden the campaign for signatures.

Some strategies for the campaign included pressuring the UFT to take a stand, by convincing chapter leaders and delegates to support divestment, creating new connections with other organizations, and hosting various events and protests to raise awareness about teachers’ retirement funds fueling genocide.

The crowd was made up mainly of new organizers dedicating themselves to the cause of Palestinian liberation, showing that the fight for Palestine’s freedom is only just beginning. The teachers left inspired and determined to chip away at the investments in Israeli companies, knowing that campaigns like this take many years to organize before being successful.

As of writing, the TRS Divest campaign has over 1900 signatures.

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #Teachers #NYCEFP

Rosemont, IL – Hundreds of people marched in the No Kings protest on Saturday afternoon, October 18, near O’Hare International Airport. At the head of the column was the leadership of the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), including outgoing President Dan Montgomery and newly-elected President Stacy Davis Gates. Protesters demanded fully-funded public services and an end to Trump's federal invasion of Illinois.

The protest took place on the second day of the IFT convention. The delegates unanimously elected Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, as Illinois Federation of Teachers president. Delegates also elected an executive board representing locals all over the state. They also resolved to fight for full- funded schools and against the many attacks from the Trump administration against the people of Illinois.

Hundreds of teachers and school staff took their demands to the streets and united with hundreds more community members and attendees of other conventions. They marched down the usually quiet sidewalk and chanted “Donald Trump has got to go!” and “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!”

Drivers honked their horns and waved signs and flags in support. These demonstrators joined millions of people around the country in visible opposition to the Trump agenda.

“It's energizing to be here with fellow teachers and education workers from around the state,” said Haden Kersting, a high school teacher and IFT delegate. “There is a tremendous amount of unity here. Trump is attacking our rights as workers, and he is attacking the communities that we are a part of and serve. People are ready to fight against Trump and his accomplices.”

#RosemontIL #IL #Labor #NoKings #IFT #CTU #Teachers

Teachers from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens all came together. The crowd was so large for the gathering that outside of the 45-person main room a spillover room had to be established down the street to hold a second set of participants connected via Zoom.

During the assembly, teachers shared how they were building immigrant rights committees, what they were working on developing within those committees, and shared resources with one another. Video messages from members of the United Teachers Los Angeles were shown to highlight how teachers on the West Coast have been organizing to protect their students and communities.

Over the course of the meeting, many people highlighted the need to make deeper connections with parents, students and community members in and around the school system to build trust and develop community circles to protect against ICE raids. Some of the tactics discussed were creating patrols of teachers on ICE watch to protect students at dismissal, holding different types of community events like Know Your Rights trainings, and providing different resources for students and their families.

The assembly comes at a time when tensions around immigration are very high in the city of New York and nationally, especially after a federal shock-and-awe campaign called “Freaky Friday” on October 3 which had rumors spreading quickly about ICE targeting schools.

Teachers left the assembly with strategies and skills to bring back to their schools and union chapters to continue fighting against Trump’s anti-immigrant attacks.

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #ImmigrantRights #UFT #MORE #Teachers

Aurora, CO – On August 19, Aurora Public School (APS) workers packed into their school's offices to demand the school board put an end to union busting and give all workers the right to organize a union.

The group of Classified Education Support Professionals (ESPs) demanding unionization includes employees like special needs paraeducators, nutrition workers, custodians and bus drivers, none of whom are currently organized. These Classified ESP workers were given a fraction of the raise that licensed staff bargained for and are demanding union recognition to fight for better wages and working conditions in line with the rest of the staff.

Classified ESP workers have been fighting for over four years for the right to join the Colorado Education Association (CEA), the largest educator union in Colorado, while enduring union-busting efforts, low pay and harassment from management in their school district.

During the meeting of the APS Board of Education, workers stood up to call out the school board's union-busting efforts, chanting “Union busting is disgusting!” during a march from the overflow room, interrupting the school board meeting. During this disruption, many school officials and several paid union busters present at the event hid their faces from the crowd.

“Their union-busting practices have been really difficult to overcome. There's a lot of fear, but with our show of solidarity today, with the number we got out today, it’s pretty clear we have the numbers to win,” said ESP worker Marceline Corvus after the event.

A group of UPS workers, members of Teamsters local 455, attended the event in solidarity. Katherine Draken, a Teamster union steward at UPS, said, “Solidarity is the backbone of the labor movement, so we have to show up for our fellow workers, even if they're not in the same union or the same industry. We're all fighting the same fight.”

#AuroraCO #CO #Labor #Teachers #Educators #Teamsters #CEA #IBT455

Chicago, IL – A crowd of Chicago Teachers Union members attended the school board meeting, July 24, carrying giant cardboard cupcakes with price tags representing the net worth of Illinois billionaires. Their demands are for Governor JB Pritzker to call a special legislative session and secure more funding for public education and other services, and for higher taxes on the rich to counteract the effects of Trump's “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

“The top 5% of top earners in Illinois got $7.7 billion in tax cuts from the Big Horrible Bill,” Jackson Potter, the CTU vice president, explaining that these tax cuts are happening while public education, healthcare and transportation each face hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts.

“This is not just a number. We are real people being cut away from our students and our jobs,” Deena DuBose, a 34-year veteran music teacher, spoke on how the loss of her position will affect her students and school community. Layoffs are a consequence of annual budget cuts. This year more than 1600 school staff have lost their jobs.

“We cannot be disgruntled about teenage upheavals while actively defunding and underfunding the institutions responsible for the development of our children,” Catlyn Savado, a youth organizer and recent CPS high school graduate, addressed the ongoing topic of “teen takeovers” downtown.

“If you actually put parents and children in the seat, they can tell you what they want to see in every school,” said Senator Graciela Guzman, recounting the demands of parents at a recent CPS budget hearing.

“CPS families have said ‘no more cuts!’ And there's no reason families should be worrying about the $734 million deficit when the state of Illinois by law has committed to providing full funding to all schools in the state of Illinois by 2027,” said Pavlyn Jankov, CTU research director. “CPS is still $1.2 billion away from having enough to provide an adequate education for all its students.”

“There’s nothing left to cut but there's plenty to fund. Our problem is a problem of political will,” said special education teacher Arturo Alvarez. “We need our legislators, especially JB Pritzker, to step up!”

“We cannot watch as JB Pritzker idealizes this concept of Trump-proofing our state while not acting on it,” Savado said.

“We are calling for action! We are calling for an emergency session,” Potter proclaimed at the end of the press conference. “If [Pritzker] doesn't see a crisis in the state, I don't see how he can talk about a constitutional crisis in the country.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #CTU #Teachers

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced on Saturday, May 17, that its members had re-elected the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) to lead the union for another term, with CORE leader Stacy Davis Gates continuing as president. This comes one month after members approved a new contract containing over 100 wins for union members and the students, with 97% of members voting to approve.

CORE is the class-struggle-oriented caucus that has led the union for 15 years. Rank-and-file unionists founded the caucus in 2008 in opposition to the neoliberal policies of Mayor Richard M. Daley, which brought privatization, school closures and instability that particularly affected Black communities in the city’s South and West Sides. The caucus first won election in 2010 under the leadership of the late Karen Lewis. Today, much of the CTU rank and file reveres Lewis’s legacy of engaging union members, families and communities in a fight for social justice.

Today, the CORE caucus advocates explicitly for Black and Latino children, who together make up over 80% of the students enrolled in Chicago Public Schools. On May 21, for example, President Davis Gates, Vice President Jackson Potter, and other leaders from CORE advocated against a snap curfew proposal on the floor of the Chicago City Council, criticizing it as criminalizing Black and brown youth.

“What our children need isn’t criminalization – it’s care,” the leadership team said in a joint statement. “They need sustained investment in public education, mental health care, recreational spaces and strong mentorship.” Such instances of advocacy on city council resolutions reflect the CORE caucus’s class-struggle approach: fighting to empower working communities at the bargaining table and beyond.

CORE won the election with 64% of the vote, with the REAL caucus (or the Respect Educate Advocate Lead caucus) garnering 36%. School-by-school results released on May 27 reveal that schools in the predominantly Black South and West Sides tend to support CORE at higher rates. This may reflect the caucus’s history of Black leadership and advocacy for Black communities facing school closures. Additionally, most unionized charter schools voted for CORE by wide margins, which may reflect the caucus’s recent history in leading unionization efforts within charter school networks.

Under CORE leadership, the Chicago Teachers Union continues to claim victories against the neoliberal trends that CORE’s founders sought to oppose. Former CTU member Mayor Brandon Johnson has advocated maintaining the ongoing moratorium on neighborhood school closures. The Chicago Teachers Union also recently advocated for a charter accountability resolution, which the Chicago Board of Education passed on May 29. The resolution strengthens protections for students, communities and public funds in the event of a charter school closure, as well as strengthening labor rights for charter school teachers. This comes on the heels of a contentious struggle over the proposed closure of seven out of 15 schools in the Acero charter network, which resulted in a campaign that ultimately saved five schools when Chicago Public Schools agreed to reintegrate them as traditional public schools.

Given recent attacks by the Trump administration on the immigrant, African American, and LGBTQ communities, the CTU plans to continue to build solidarity and fight in various arenas.

“We will continue to build the strongest force field around our students, our members, our school communities, our city and our union,” the CTU leadership wrote in a press release. “The greatest protection against attacks — whether it is from an out-of-line administrator or an out-of-line president — is each other.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #Teachers #CORE #CTU

Tacoma, WA – Several hundred community members gathered for a Save Our Students rally and march on May 22. The demonstration was in protest of the recent layoffs at Tacoma Public Schools (TPS). The march led demonstrators directly into the business meeting held by the TBS board of directors. The crowd gathered at 5 p.m. in the parking lot of the First United Methodist Church for a program of speeches before the march. The themes were outrage and the importance of unity.

“120 of us have recently been displaced,” said Gwendolyn Lewandoski, a para-educator who works at Hilltop Middle School.

Speakers gave fiery calls to action between heated chants such as, “When education is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” Volunteers served dinner to anybody that was hungry. As the crowd grew, people spilled out of the large parking lot and into the alley and sidewalks.

“We are out here to push the district and the board to come up with some new solutions to their budget issues,” said Kari Madden, president of the Tacoma Federation of Education Support Professionals. “If these cuts go through, our students are going to see a lot less support next year. Many of our members are losing their jobs completely. These are members that already struggle to pay the rent or have food on the table.”

“I have coworkers whose positions are being eliminated,” said Calvin Pederson, a member of the Tacoma Federation of Education Support Professionals 461. “These are people who are on the front lines with students every day making a difference.”

“The majority of the para cuts impacted elementary,” said Megan Capes, a teacher and union activist. “I teach high school, and it’s proposed that libraries are only going be open a couple of hours a day. It’s a crime.”

Speakers included students, who advocated for the TPS workers and talked about the impact it would have on them.

“It’s gonna be devastating. Working people are already in crisis right now, including kids,” said Lewandoski. “They already need more support than ever. It’s gonna be terrible inside the schools.”

After the short program, the crowd of several hundred marched two-and-a-half blocks to the TPS Central Administration Building in Hilltop. Spirited educators led the program with chants such as “Defund admin!” and “Hey hey, ho ho. Directors’ pay must go!”

Attendees included educators, families, school staff, students, labor activists and social justice activists.

“The budget cuts are going to affect the lowest-paid people, and not the highest-paid people, and that doesn’t sit well,” said Mike Baker with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 612.

Rank-and-file members of UFCW, Teamsters 174, and the International Association of Machinists joined with other union activists to show solidarity with the workers. “I believe that the locals and unions need to stand up for organized labor,” said Baker. “To continue to fight is all we can do.”

The crowd arrived at the Central Administration Building with more chants and a few short speeches. Soon, the crowd entered the TPS board of directors business meeting. The event, hosted by TPS Unions United, aimed to pressure the board of directors to reverse the layoffs.

“What we’re asking for is more transparency with district administrators and how they spend their budget,” said Pederson.

The meeting room literally overflowed with support. The crowd was unified, and union President Madden’s message was simple: “Cutting from the bottom is not the answer.”

Due to the volume of protesters and supporters, many remained outside.

“We’re completely committed to improving education. You can’t do that without adequate funding, and you can’t do that without people in the classroom, so I support the efforts here,” said Jonathan Johnson, chair of the NAACP Tacoma Education Committee. “We really need to be together on this. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

“It’s not gonna be good for the schools,” said Lewandoski, “and they’re not gonna balance a $30 million budget on us when we make fucking starvation – you know, we make $2000 a month. I do. My rent is $1600.”

As the program outside concluded and the remaining protesters slowly dispersed, the mood was inspired and determined.

“People are ready to fight,” said Pederson. “I’ve been talking to everyone at my union meetings, at my school, teachers, parents, custodians. We’re all here, and we’re all pissed as hell, and we’re not gonna let this happen.”

“We’re building power within the Tacoma Education Association and it shows,” said Capes. “We’re bargaining right now, so this is not a one time thing. This is going to be a continuing fight.”

#TacomaWA #WA #Labor #Teachers

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced on Monday, April 14, that its members have approved of a new contract by an overwhelming 97% majority. This four-year contract with Chicago Public Schools is the first in 15 years that the CTU has achieved without a strike or a strike vote.

The deal will go to the board of education for final approval later this month. Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez plans to recommend that the board approve, saying in a statement on Friday, April 18 that the agreement is financially responsible, despite the “challenging financial times.” This is an imminent conclusion to nearly a year of bargaining, often marked by contention between CTU leadership and Martinez, particularly on the issue of funding.

85% of CTU’s nearly 30,000 members participated in this vote. CTU President Stacey Davis Gates attributed this to the union’s strong democracy. “People got an opportunity to touch it, feel it, see it,” Davis Gates said about the agreement at a CTU conference on Monday. She pointed out that 65 engaged, rank-and-file members made up the bargaining team.

Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, echoed these sentiments saying, “The 85% is as impressive as the 97%. To get that percentage of turnout in a unit that size means their union democracy is incredible.”

The contract includes over 100 wins for the union, many of which will directly impact the education of the students. Some wins include reduced class sizes, increased planning time for elementary school teachers, and increased investment in athletics programs. Furthermore, Chicago Public Schools will add hundreds of new positions, including new counselors, librarians and teacher assistants. The contract also includes annual cost of living adjustments of 4 to 5%, depending on inflation.

“Cost of living is going up, and I’m a fan of paying rent,” said one high school teacher. Veteran teachers won additional increases, lessening the incentive for the most experienced teachers to leave for higher-paying districts in the suburbs.

“This contract was ratified so overwhelmingly because it has something for everyone,” said Kobi Guillory, a community activist and CTU member. “As a middle school teacher, I get additional prep time to plan high quality instruction for my students, and my students get a more joyful school experience.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #Contract #Teachers #CTU #Feature

Chicago, IL – A flood of red shirts washed into the downtown headquarters of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Thursday afternoon, March 20, during the March Board of Education meeting. Members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) gathered to demand the settlement of their contract after nearly a year of negotiations.

CTU has already published three pages of contract demands on which they have won tentative agreements. The new contract will require greater investment in public education, which depends on a budget amendment that would allow the school district to cover the additional costs incurred by the new contract as well as pension payments for teachers and paraprofessionals.

Bargaining is currently stalled on a handful of points. These include smaller class sizes, higher pay for veteran teachers and paraprofessionals, more elementary school prep time, and reducing inequality in the teacher evaluation system.

“I want to thank the negotiations team for working very hard. We are extremely, extremely close to a settlement,” Chicago School Board President Sean Harden said while explaining that the budget amendment, originally up for a vote at Thursday's meeting, was withdrawn from the agenda to give CTU and CPS more time to reach an agreement.

The major stumbling block in negotiations has been Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, who stormed out of a meeting with CTU leadership and Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday afternoon. Martinez has not attended a single bargaining session since they began last April, but he has stalled negotiations by filing a temporary restraining order to prevent CTU from negotiating directly with the school board and by proposing a budget which made no provisions for increased pay or any other item in the contract.

“For Pedro to decide that he doesn’t want to invest in our future after we’ve worked hard for years and paid our dues, after we’ve done our work making schools open on time, to say we don’t deserve a pension is a slap in the face,” Christel Williams, the recording secretary of CTU and a school clerk, said at a press conference before the meeting. Williams was speaking specifically about paraprofessionals and school related personnel, who are often treated as a second tier by CPS.

“As Trump and Musk bring chaos into our school system, we need a contract and we need it today,” Williams added.

“This board can work together with us to secure the most transformative contract in the history of Chicago Public Schools,” Vicki Kurzydlo, a 31-year veteran educator, emphasized the issues of veteran teacher pay and elementary school prep time.

“Teachers in my building are routinely robbed of their prep time,” elementary school music teacher Kathryn Zamarron said during public comments section of the boad meeting. CTU is demanding 20 additional minutes of prep time for teachers. This is a step towards bringing back 30 minutes of prep time lost under Rahm Emanuel’s administration.

“This system only works because of our free labor,” Zamarron continued. After giving her comment, Zamarron returned to grading her student’s work. She was joined at the podium by dozens of CTU members who also came to the meeting after working in a school system damaged by decades of local and federal defunding of public education.

“In these times of a massive assault on public education by Donald Trump and the oligarchs, we need the highest quality, strongest and most engaging community schools,” said Marc Kaplan, an organizer with Northside Action for Justice, who stressed the importance of a transformative local contract in light of intensifying federal attacks on public education.

Minutes before Kaplan spoke, Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. If the order is successfully carried out, schools around the country will be without funding for special education and other crucial programs.

Since Trump's election in November, CTU has uplifted their contract demands as a “forcefield” around Chicago designed to protect the city's students. One win in their 2019 contract, keeping schools as sanctuary spaces, has already successfully defended children from federal agents who attempted to enter Hamline elementary in January.

The next day’s negotiations saw a counteroffer from CPS which did not offer continuous prep time, pushing a settlement back by at least another day.

On Friday afternoon, March 21, CTU held a joint press conference with the firefighter’s union, which has been stalled for three years in negotiations, to demand the settlement of both contracts. The joint conference is an example of the solidarity CTU is building not only to settle its contract, but also to galvanize labor and the people’s movements in united action against Trump’s agenda.

“Since 2012, Chicago has been a place of resistance,” CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said at the Friday press conference, citing Rahm Emanuel’s massive school closing campaign which shut down 50 schools in 2013. “If anyone in this country wants to know how to resist the tyranny of people who want to privatize and close off opportunities, you can come to Chicago.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #CTU #Teachers #Contract