Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically assassinated on April 4, 1968. This year on April 4, labor unions, civil rights organizations, and religious leaders are standing together across the country for the rights and dignity of working men and women.
Dr. King was killed in Memphis, where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers demanding their dream: The right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life. We will stand together to remind elected officials that workers’ rights are human rights.
Unions and teachers are under attack in much of the country. According to Education Week, “Bills to eliminate or curtail collective bargaining, do away with teacher strikes, or curb union-dues deductions are advancing in more than a dozen state legislatures.” Teachers are fighting back though. Read Education Week‘s Unions Strike Back at Anti-Labor Legislation to find out what’s happening around the country.
Stand in solidarity with your colleagues across the nation this Monday. Find your own way to commemorate the death of Dr. King and celebrate our civil and human rights. Activities can include:
- Wearing a “We Are One’’ sticker to school
- Holding a small vigil after school
- Organizing teach-ins
- Participating in rallies
Find out more about We Are One from NEA.
Below: Wisconsin NEA members were key participants in a rally of 100,000 protesting legislative action that stripped collective bargaining rights from public employees.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAsYnALN270&feature=relmfu]
It is important that the politicians understand that the more they focus on destroying labor unions the more members will be turning up at the polls come election time. They can only maintain the fervor of the radicals for a limited time and after they are no longer showing up, our votes will have the greatest impact. In Mobile County, Alabama a vote to maintain a tax for education was voted upon and past with an overwhelming majority. This was accomplished due to low voter participation and a unified voting response from NEA promotional efforts to get out the vote. I believe the same thing will happen to low interest during state legislature elections. We need to vote consistently and often in our interests and those of the children we teach.