By: Mitchell
A few days ago, 93% of the Evergreen Education Association voted to authorize a strike ahead of the upcoming school year. Per the union’s detailed graph on its website, the main contentions (of many) are the District’s non-commitment to a plan for hiring Special Education teachers, the proposed “black out” days where teachers could not take personal leave, the District’s low Cost of Living Adjustment, and the District’s lackluster plan for classroom cleanup. The CSAN has enjoyed going on strike with the teachers and aiding their efforts to fight for a better contract.
However, the CSAN must (alongside striking with the teachers) help raise class solidarity and the knowledge of Class Unionism amongst the striking staff. This article will provide our positions on this conflict and explain Class Unionism.
Teachers are paramount in every public and private teaching institution; schools and universities can only work with them. With them, the students are taught. With them, the schools are run. With them, the fundamental purpose of a school is fulfilled.
And without them, what will happen to a school? Very simply, a school cannot be run.
Teachers wield another immense power: the power to force the public to hear their cause. When they withhold their labor, the district cannot hire scabs to fill their places, nor can people ignore them. And this power can be used for more than just struggles relating to teachers’ issues, but social issues, class issues, and more. But unless teachers understand this (metaphorical) sword they wield, they shall limit their options to only bringing about small, temporary changes to their lives.
Now, this isn’t necessarily unique to teachers. Myriad workers, from nurses to mail workers, wield this power, but they sadly have been blinded to the options put before them. So, with that in mind, the Class Struggle Action Network needs to raise awareness among workers of this power. And to educate workers about this power, we must educate them about Class Unionism.
Class Unionism is a theory that says that a society’s workers create all the wealth in that society through their labor. The bosses, the corporations, and all those above the common worker contribute little to the creation of society’s wealth. While Class Unionism is mainly marketed to workers in the private sector, it also applies to the teachers’ struggle.
Teachers, as previously mentioned, are those who make or break a school. Without them (the CSAN cannot emphasize this enough), schools cannot operate. The superintendent contributes nothing to a school’s day-to-day operations; the teachers do. The school board contributes nothing to a school’s day-to-day operations; the teachers do. The district contributes nothing to a school’s day-to-day operations; the teachers do.
At this point, the CSAN has given our official policy on the current situation and spoke about Class Unionism. However, this article would not be significant if it did not tell the reader how to convince others (especially teachers) about this. So, with that in mind, these next few paragraphs are our advice.
The best way the Network has noticed is to have peaceful conversations with these workers. Instead of preaching your cause to them and thoroughly arguing with every disagreement they have, remain confident and calm in conversation. Try to understand that they’re not against you; they haven’t been properly introduced to these concepts yet.
Educate yourself about the topic. This can be reading theory, articles, or any publications given by the CSAN. If you know about the topic, you can defend it from scrutiny.
And remember, this job is going to be thankless. No one will sing your praises for teaching them what Class Unionism is, nor will they immediately fall on their hands and knees, thanking whatever creator they believe in that you were there to educate them. But then again, any organizing is thankless. Instead of wishing for thanks, we hope that people will begin to reckon with these ideas, and when the opportunity presents itself, they will persuade their fellow workers to raise a defiant fist at any boss who wrongs them.
When the workers do that, the world shall be a better place.
All schools in the Evergreen School District have picket lines set up by the teachers. The lines are up from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. To echo the words Joe Hill put to paper one-hundred-and-ten years ago, “Come on, do your share, lend a hand!”
