This is the second article in a series describing the first six years, from 2014 to 2020, in the transformation of one of the largest local unions in the United States, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). The transformation continues today under Cecily Myart-Cruz’s presidency.
Given the critical impacts that the victories of Donald Trump and his broader right-populist Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement will have on the social and political terrain of the country, this installment looks at imperatives for labor in the coming years. It integrates lessons from UTLA and the broader educator union movement, which fought necessary defensive battles during Trump’s first term and, critically, also went on offense to make significant breakthroughs in red, blue, and purple states.
MAGA’s attacks will be much more vicious in the coming years. Yet we fought and won battles in Trump’s first term — and can do so again.
On January 19, 2017, tens of thousands of UTLA members, students, parents, and allies at hundreds of schools across the region protested the inauguration of Donald Trump. They carried signs in the shape of shields that would become iconic across Los Angeles — among them “Shield Against Racism and Sexism,” “Shield Against Homophobia and Transphobia,” “Shield Against Islamophobia and Antisemitism,” “Shield Against Immigrant Detention and Deportation,” and “Shield Against Union-Busting.” The action was part of national protests coordinated by the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS), a labor/community coalition including the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the Service Employees International Union, Journey for Justice, Center…
Auteur: Alex Caputo-Pearl
