Samantha Winslow

A slate of activists bidding to head the nation's second-largest teachers local say the union should fight for better schools, not just a raise.

Charters Get Kids Cubicle-Ready

Blog: 
Author(s): 

From Silicon Valley, the Rocketship chain of charter schools is hoping to expand across the country. It’s backed by some of the biggest names in the tech world and claims high test scores.

Rocketship leaders brag that they think outside the box. Teachers, for instance—who needs them? The company says it saves half a million dollars a year by using fewer teachers, replacing them with non-certified instructors at $15 per hour.

Teachers and students say the Los Angeles school district’s plan to distribute iPads to every student is a way to increase standardized testing.

More than 22,000 campus workers and service and technical workers in the system’s medical centers struck for a day, claiming harassment and intimidation by management.

Pittsburgh Troublemakers Go to School

Blog: 
Author(s): 

Eighty activists, including members of the Steelworkers, Transit Union (ATU), United Electrical Workers (UE), Service Employees, and AFSCME, gathered Saturday for a day of trainings, workshops, and discussions: the Pittsburgh Troublemakers School.

The day’s activities focused on preparing members for active campaigns in the Pittsburgh area and at their worksites. Speakers highlighted fights against plant and factory closings and against cuts to education and services, and three labor-community partnerships that have emerged in the city.

Attack of the Cadillac Tax

Blog: 
Author(s): 

Picture a union worker pulling up in a Cadillac, valet-parking at the city’s most prestigious hospital, and pulling out the gold card for lavish care. Plastic surgery, massages: all covered. Is that what the "Cadillac tax" is supposed to prevent?

Despite massive protests by unions, parents, and community organizations, 47 schools closed in Chicago, and 23 in Philadelphia, almost all in poor Black and Latino neighborhoods.

In 1963 the AFL-CIO chose the wrong side of history and sat out the original march. This time, a sea of union T-shirts blanketed the National Mall.

Pages