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Strike for America

Chicago Teachers Against Austerity

Micah Uetricht

$19.99

Paperback

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English
Verso Books
01 April 2014
Series: Jacobin
The Chicago Teachers Union strike was the most important domestic

labor struggle so far this century-and perhaps for the last forty

years-and the strongest challenge to the conservative agenda for

restructuring education, which advocates for more charter schools and

tying teacher salaries to standardized testing, among other changes. The

teachers took on the bipartisan, free market school reform agenda that

is currently exacerbating inequality in education and waging war on

teachers' livelihoods. In the age of austerity, when the public sector

is under attack, Chicago teachers fought back-and won.

The

strike was years in the making. Chicago teachers spent a long time

building a grassroots movement to educate and organize the entire union

membership. They stood up against hostile mayors, billionaire-backed

reformers out to destroy unions, and even their own intransigent union

leadership, to take militant action. The Chicago protest has become a

model for how reforms to the school system can be led by teachers and

communities. It offers inspiration for workers looking to create

democratic, fighting unions. Strike for America is the story of this

movement and how it triumphed in the defining struggle for workers

today.

By:  
Imprint:   Verso Books
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 206mm,  Width: 130mm,  Spine: 8mm
Weight:   174g
ISBN:   9781781683255
ISBN 10:   1781683255
Series:   Jacobin
Pages:   142
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Micah Uetricht is a labor organizer in Chicago, an assistant editor at Jacobin, and an In These Times contributing editor. He has written for Salon, the Nation, the American Prospect, and the Chicago Reader. He has been covering the Chicago Teachers Union since well before the 2012 strike.

Reviews for Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity

Brilliant political analysis. - The Nation A finely bound pamphlet and a piece of old-fashioned socialist pedagogy, written in a modern, accessible style. - Richard Seymour, teleSUR Indefatigable reporting and elegant writing backed by an erudite command of the relevant history, and by precious on-the-ground experience as an organizer. Uetricht's first book establishes him as the most exciting young labor writer today. - Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America A short, accessible guide to one of the most important and inspiring events of our time. - Brian Jones, member of the Movement of Rank-and-File Educators A wonderfully readable, smart account of the CTU's transformation into a democratic, militant union that with its community partners took on Chicago and the nation's power elite. - Lois Weiner, author of The Future of Our Schools: Teachers Unions and Social Justice An indispensable account of a strike that was badly misconstrued and underreported by the mainstream media. Uetricht not only tells the story lucidly, but explains why the struggle of teachers in Chicago should matter to all of us. - Liza Featherstone, author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights at Wal-Mart A read to sustain all of us who continue to fight for the next victory for education justice and for those who want a vision to fight for. - Socialist Worker In this pithy and accessible book the author provides a passionate, well-researched and highly engaging account of the 2012 Chicago teachers strike. - Peter Brogan, Labour/Le Travail


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