Salt Lake City, UT – Teachers in the Salt Lake Education Association walked out of a Salt Lake City Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday night, June 4. The meeting was held the night before the last day of school and was attended almost entirely by teachers, some of whom had brought their own children. They wore red shirts to show their solidarity to their union, their students and each other and they carried signs reading “6%” showing their demand to have their salaries raised by 6% in their upcoming contract with the district. The teachers all walked out during the comment period, where input on the upcoming contract is not allowed – until the negotiations are settled.

Garland, TX – On May 28 members of the community, together with some of the affected teachers, confronted the Garland school board about the board's failure to act to help teachers who had been trafficked from the Philippines to work in the Garland school district.

Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted May 19 to re-elect the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) leadership slate, headed by President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Financial Secretary Maria Moreno, and Recording Secretary Christel Williams Hayes. The result was 66% for CORE, 34% for the challengers.

Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted May 19 to re-elect the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) leadership slate, headed by President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Financial Secretary Maria Moreno, and Recording Secretary Christel Williams Hayes. The result was 66% for CORE, 34% for the challengers.

Milwaukee, WI – For the past several months, non-tenured faculty and graduate students at Marquette University have been organizing to form a union. They held rallies, distributed petitions and returned to administration demanding to be recognized and negotiated with as equals. In response, Marquette's administration has offered empty promises to “follow the law,” and refuses anything further.

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members at charter schools are reforming the industry one charter operator at a time and that campaign won better working conditions for educators and better learning conditions for students at two charter schools run by Instituto del Progresso Latino. Teachers and support staff from two schools, Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy and Instituto Justice Leadership Academy, had been on strike against the charter operator since the end of the day on May 1. The tentative agreement was finalized just before 11 p.m. on May 6.

Jacksonville, FL – About 35 people gathered on May 1 to celebrate International Workers’ Day in Jacksonville. The rally was held in front of the Duval County Courthouse. Members of several local trade unions were present, including Letter Carriers, Teamsters, SEIU, Teachers, and IATSE. Other local activist groups included the Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, Progressive Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Network, the Northside Coalition, and the local Democratic Black Caucus.

Tampa, FL – Over 30 young workers, trade unionists and community members rallied May 3 to demand an end to attacks on public school employees in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida. The rally was organized by West Central Florida Future Labor Leaders.

Richardson, TX – About 60 people came together at Faith United Methodist Church here, May 3, for a community forum on the trafficking of Filipino teachers in the nearby suburb of Garland. The forum was hosted by Migrante USA, Malaya Movement Texas, United Federation of Fil-Am Educators Texas, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, North Texas Dream Team, Pilipino American Unity for Progress, and RAICES.

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members at as many as ten more charter schools could be on the picket lines on May 1 – May Day – in what would be the third CTU strike against charter operators this school year.

Madison, WI – On April 5, graduate workers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison occupied Bascom Hall for three hours, organized by the Teaching Assistants Association (TAA). The primary demands were that segregated fees be waived for graduate workers, that the international student fee also be waived, and that the university respect the collective bargaining process. Over 400 graduate workers and supporters, including undergraduates, the faculty and staff union, and community members, turned out in the TAA’s largest action in roughly a decade.

Chicago, IL – Five charter schools could face strikes in coming weeks, as educators battle for living wages, adequate student supports, pension rights and protections for immigrant and diverse learners.

Los Angeles, CA – Centro CSO (Community Service Organization) along with teachers, parents and students from several East Area schools announced a historic victory, April 4. After months of struggle, corporate KIPP Promesa Charter school will not be building a new mega-charter school in Boyle Heights, at the location of the former Lincoln Hospital near 4th and Soto Street.

Tampa, FL – Over 40 custodians, teachers and concerned community members rallied outside the Hillsborough County School Board meeting, April 2, to stop plans to privatize the custodial staff at all Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS). The rally was hosted by the Hillsborough State Employee Federation and Hillsborough County Teachers Association. Chants at the rally included “It’s time to stop the greed, give custodians what they need!” and “Up up with education, down down with privatization!”

Tampa, FL – Over 30 teachers, staff, parents and community members rallied outside the Pasco County School District Office, March 5, to build support for United School Employees of Pasco (USEP) and challenge dismal salaries for school district employees, along with the lack of funding for public education. The rally occurred only minutes before a Pasco County school board meeting inside.

Chicago, IL – Solidarity matters. Teachers and paraprofessionals at the Chicago International Charter Schools hit the picket lines at 6:00 a.m. on February 5 and stayed out until they had won what they needed at 3:15 a.m. on February 17. What they need was smaller class sizes for their students, adequate staffing for special education students, maternity leave for educators and a wage scale close enough to the Chicago Public School teachers to bring some measure of stability to the classroom.

Denver, CO – After all night negotiations the Denver School Board, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) announced that they had reached a tentative agreement to end the teachers strike. It was announced that the strike officially ends this Friday, but teachers were free to go back to work today, February 14.

Denver, CO – Over 3700 Denver teachers walked off the job on Monday, February 13 in support of their claim for an increase in their base pay, which is widely regarded as too low to maintain their families. The Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) called the strike in case collective bargaining failed to gain adequate salary increases.

Chicago, IL – Over 50 activists gathered in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago on the night of February 5, to rally in solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution. Organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the event brought together progressive political organizations and trade unions to demand an end to U.S. aggression and threats of war with Venezuela.