Teach Truth Days of Action

We asked teachers who helped organize “Teach Truth Days of Action” in various parts of the country to describe their days
of action and why they were important. Here’s what they said.

Oakland Youth to Teachers’ Retirement System: “Divest Now!”

It was a letter to the CalSTRS board, demanding that they dump the pension fund’s investments in oil and gas companies. It was signed “From the many young climate justice activists who will continue to be at every one of your meetings until you divest.”

Biden’s Broken Promise: Time to Opt Out!

On Dec. 14, 2019, I asked President Joe Biden a question about standardized testing. Seeking the Democratic nomination, he had joined other presidential candidates at a Public Education Forum hosted […]

Karen Lewis Struck a Blow for Justice

When Karen Lewis, the past president of the Chicago Teachers Union, succumbed to a long battle with brain cancer on Feb. 8, 2021, we lost one of the greatest freedom […]

Teacher Unions and Social Justice Study Groups

Teacher Unions and Social Justice is an anthology of more than 60 articles documenting the history and the how-tos of social justice unionism. Together, these contributions describe the growing movement to […]

Teacher Unions and Social Justice

An anthology of more than 60 articles documenting the history and the how-tos of social justice unionism. Together, they describe the growing movement to forge multiracial alliances with communities to defend and transform public education.

Paid Leave in the Time of a Pandemic

Educators know firsthand what lack of paid family and medical leave means for their students and families — and for themselves. Now, the pandemic has dramatically elevated the need for […]

Teachers and the Struggle for Paid Family Leave

Last fall, California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, signed a sweeping array of progressive legislation into law. Among the many bills he enacted included legislation granting collective bargaining rights to the […]

From the Art Build to the Streets

The author of A People’s Art History of the United States dissects the imagery unions created and used in the streets and on the picket lines during the 2019 Chicago teachers strike.

What Can Art Do in the Perilous Present?

An artist and academic writes about art builds — how they are practices of resistance and solidarity, and celebrations of joy and justice to fuel the teachers’ rebellion and other movements.