Teacher Unionizing in Philadelphia

Week 8 - 10/17/2019

In the Class

Summary

During this session, we opened discussion on teachers unions and the case of Ocean Hill, Brownsville, NY. A large part of the discussion centered around race and how whiteness is maintained in the structure of education. Our readings exemplified what social justice unionism can accomplish, fostering thought around, “what’s at stake?”. We put social justice unionism in Philadelphia context by focusing on The Caucus of Working Educators (WE), a group of rank and file members of The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT). This upcoming year, 2020, The WE Caucus, is contesting the current PFT leadership for a second time. We heard from two WE members in class who shared their belief in the caucus and their visions for a stronger union. Grass-roots organizing strategy is based on 1:1 conversations and building relationships of trust. We had our class practice organizing conversations to prepare for future phone banking opportunities of calling PFT members to campaign for WE.

Class Notes

Slides

Beyond the Class

Workers on Strike!

The Chicago Teacher’s Union began striking on October 17th. Teachers demanded equitable lives for students and themselves. General Motors workers reached their 35th day on strike. You can also visit Teacher Strike Tracker for up-to-date news on strikes across the US.

Opening Reflection

Playlists for Organizing

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Today, more than 25,000 educators and allies in Chicago are on strike. Much of the present-day narrative about teachers’ unions is that their interests threaten or are in conflict with those of their students. Sometimes, this can be true; debates over firing underperforming teachers or community control over schools sometimes pit teachers’ job security against student needs. But more often than not, pitting student and teacher needs against each other is a means of diverting our attention from the ways our current school system is unjust to both teachers and students, and how most of the time, students’ interests and teachers’ interests are the same. Syeda Sakina, an English teacher in Chicago, said of the strike: “I am striking because I believe in smaller class sizes, equitable teaching, and to hire more counselors, social workers, and nurses in ALL schools. These are basic rights that every child deserves in a school. Overcrowded classroom means less chances to succeed because you aren’t given proper attention and feedback. Especially as an English teacher, when and where do I find time to meet with my students to go over their paper if I have more than 32 kids in my classes?” (From CNN’s Gianluca Mezzoflore) It is dangerous to perpetuate the narrative that union and student interests diverge because it diminishes our respect for the incredibly hard work teachers do to ensure our students have an equitable and just educational experience. Teachers need the tools to teach effectively, and until we start respecting teachers as the educators that they are, school conditions cannot improve, because, according to the MORE Caucus, “Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions.” (MF)

A post shared by Activism Beyond the Classroom (@actbeyondtheclass) on Oct 17, 2019 at 9:31am PDT

How do you work with constituents to build an understanding of group interest?

Collective Bargaining

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. (2019) CB Team Accomplishments [Web Page]. Collective Bargaining Team.
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Health & Welfare Fund. (Sept 2019) Healthy Schools Action Plan: Asbestos Crisis in Philly Schools.
Mezzacappa, D. (2016, August 15). State Supreme Court rules in favor of PFT in contract case. TheNotebook.org.

How can we center social justice in unionizing and organizing? What gets lost when this is not done?

Working Educators

Graham, K. A. (2018, February 6). Black Lives Matter Week of Action, born in Philly, goes national. The Inquirer.
Schroeder, P. (2014, November 18). Caucus of teachers’ union focused on social justice holds first conference. TheNotebook.org.
Windle, G. (2019, April 15). Educators tell Council to end 10-year tax abatement with support from gallery. TheNotebook.org.
Melville, K. (2016, March 22). On Unions and Gyms: A Teacher Works to Make Her Union Stronger. EducationWeek.

Class Discussion

Our class discussion focused on responses to two piece pieces: a documentary on educator organizing, and a podcast from the Chicago Teacher’s Union.

POWER! (1966-1968)- start at 36 minutes for Oceanhill/Brownsville. This piece belongs in conversations with discourses around antisemitism. A directly related article to read is: https://www.jta.org/1969/03/19/archive/see-teachers-union-playing-down-black-anti-semitism-in-ocean-hill-brownsville

Phone Banking Practice

In the second half of class we reviewed the Caucus of Working Educators’ list of demands. With the help of the two guest, we practiced phone banking. We were able to call a fellow WE caucus nurse to practice our new skills. We learned the importance of connecting on a human level, listening, and the value of being passionate and able to speak about the things we care about.

In the discomfort of this process, Krystal urged us to sit in this different feeling and consider how being uncomfortable is part of growing into activism and learning. The talking points we used are listed to the right. These are the demands of the WE caucus.