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To George and Gladys Weiner, my first teachers, from whom I learned to speak out for social justice
Understanding the Assault on Public Education
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What I’ve explained so far points to why we need to take back the unions. At the same time, activists who focus their attention on the teachers unions need the vision of teachers whose paramount concern is what goes on in their classrooms. Because of the conservatizing factors I’ve mentioned in this chapter, as well as others I explain later in the book, even progressive unions and radical teacher union leaders feel pressure to narrow the union’s focus, to take up “bread and butter” issues that are more popular with many members than social justice concerns. For teachers to succeed in pushing back on school closings, standardized testing, and a narrowed curriculum, they must also have strong, mutually respectful alliances with communities and parents. School workers who have roots in minority communities are a key resource, and are often overlooked. Sometimes these individuals work as aides and teachers in bilingual or English as a Second Language programs. In some districts, workers who belong to another union can provide crucial personal links with community activists and parents.
As attacks on teachers unions have intensified in the past few years, I’ve been asked by teachers for practical reading about how to improve their unions. Finding no book that I could recommend, I’ve written this one. In developing my ideas for this book, I’ve drawn on my work as a researcher, teacher union activist, professor of education, and career high school teacher. To make the book more readable, I’ve tried to keep references to the absolute minimum. For current updates on research and analysis on teachers unions, you may want to refer to my website.7 All royalties from this book will go to Teachers Unite, an organization that I think embodies the goals of building a movement of teachers, parents, and community activists committed to social justice in education and social movement teacher unionism.
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