Thursday, February 14, 2019

Denver Strike Settled : Oakland May Be Next

DENVER (CBS4) – An agreement between the Denver teachers’ union and Denver Public Schools has been reached, bringing a resolution to a three-day strike that caused a major disruption to the district’s operations this week. It was the first time in 25 years that public school teachers in the city had gone on strike.
It is a tentative agreement. 

Last month, the Los Angeles teachers led a historic strike. 35,000 teachers and support staff walked off the job, taking on their investment banker superintendent, Austin Beutner, and the racist billionaire privatizers who are at war with public education. Through mass rallies, and a near complete shutdown of the school system, the LA teachers, parents, and students won smaller class sizes, more student support, a nurse in every school, and an immigrant defense fund for families within the school district, among much more.
As we enter what appears to be a time of renewed labor militancy, the teacher strike wave shows no end in sight. Striking Denver teachers just won their demands, and Oakland teachers are preparing to strike as I write. DSAers are with striking teachers all the way — read on to learn how you can help!
Maria Svart
DSA National Director

Last week a 95% supermajority of Oakland public school teachers voted to authorize a strike. The vote turnout was a record-breaking 84%. With the future of public education on the line.
When the teachers strike wave hits the Bay Area, democratic socialists will be there to stand with Oakland teachers!
Just like Los Angeles teachers earlier this month, teachers in the Oakland Education Association are fighting a school district bought and paid for by billionaire school privatizers. Funded by the likes of the Walton family, these billionaire-backed politicians are carrying out a nationwide plan to privatize schools, segregate education, and break teachers unions. The end goal? To slash taxes for the hyper wealthy who don’t want to pay for the schools our students deserve.
Oakland teachers are demanding smaller class sizes, more student support, a living wage to keep teachers in the city, and an end to school closures. Their fight is our fight!

However, it won’t be an easy battle; with more than 70% of Oakland students on free or reduced lunch, feeding Oakland students is critical to a victory in Oakland. That's why East Bay DSA, the Oakland Education Association, and a coalition of other organizations have launched Bread for Ed. Bread for Ed will feed as many Oakland students as possible during the strike, with a focus on those most in need. By keeping kids fed, we can give them a choice: they won’t have to cross the picket line to get a meal.
With your donation, you show Oakland teachers, students, and parents that DSA supports them and that we won't let billionaires destroy our public schools. After you donate, remember to share on social media and send an email to your friends and family, encouraging them to support this effort as well. Together, we can win a public education system for the many, not the few.

No comments:

 
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.