[lbo-talk] some good news about teachers fighting back---in Mexico!

[Carrol Cox]

On 6/1/2011 8:42 PM, MICHAEL YATES wrote:
> http://labornotes.org/2011/05/mexican-teachers-strike-protest-over-test-driven-education
>
> Sam Gindin, formerly chief economist for the Canadian Auto Workers union and a sharp
> thinker about both economics and the labor movement, argues that public employees will
> only be able to stop a rout by capital if they push hard and militantly for the provision of public
> services, allying themselves with those who need such services most and fighting for better and more
> public services. I think many public workers would agree or could be convinced to agree.  The national
> leaders of their unions, however, might not be capable of leading such a struggle, at least not the way
> it has to be led. Too many political alliances would have to be broken; complete breaks would have to be
> made with all the foundations now setting the agenda for public schools; and so forth.
>
> What do others think?
>    
I agree with all of this. I would add that those entering these 
struggles must be prepared to lose and fight again, because it is going 
to be a complex and protracted series of local, state, and national 
campaigns. Wisconsin is not over; I understand that there are many 
groups around the state working to carry on, whatever the short term 
results.

And of course the old union leadership will merely bargain for nominal 
"sweetening" of whatever horror is coming down on them. That's what the 
teachers' union leadership did in Illinois. (See Chuck's posts on this.)

Locally, we have a whirlwind in the person of Sonny Garcia, a janitor at 
ISU; he 'surfaced' a few years ago when he had finally finished a degree 
going part  time. He organized the local Latino group; he linked up with 
BNCPJ and with CIOP (google CIOP and IPA). He is now working to get as 
many local groups as possible to come to a conference at this Sunday's 
BNCPJ meeting to plan for future cooperation. It looks like there will 
be quite a turnout! And incidentally, as slimy as Move On! is its many 
members of local groups are plugging into various local actions. Quite a 
few people from Bloomington also attended the May 1 Re-dedication of the 
Haymarket memorial on May 1.

We won't know for a couple years both whether there is renewed 
resistance and what form or forms it will take. That depends a lot on 
the intiative of local groups.

Carrol