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Making Waves

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Labor

Woman holding up a banner that says "I am more than just test scores"

The Chicago Teacher’s Strike and the Struggle for a New Unionism

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One of the most striking features of the Chicago teacher's strike was the level of community support for the teachers. Contrary to public expectations, the strike turned into a social mobilization around education rather than a battle for the special interests of teachers. This feature did not come out of nowhere, but actually reflected an on-going effort to shift the direction of labor unionism in America, and in this case, labor unionism among teachers.
2 people in red tshirts holding a banner that partly says Support Our- the rest of the banner's text is cut off

From Ocean Hill-Brownsville to Chicago: Learning from History

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In 1968, New York teachers went on strike in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville School District in Brooklyn after a dozen teachers and six administrators were unilaterally dismissed. The school district was established by the New York City Department of Education as an experiment in community control in the mostly African American neighborhood.