“I Was Proud and Humbled to Stand With Such Brave Educators”
Last week, Oakland charter school teachers took a brave step, joining striking public school teachers on the picket lines. Two teachers, one charter and one public, explain what it was like to organize side-by-side.
Striking teachers and supporters in downtown Oakland. Eric Blanc
Negotiations are currently underway between the Oakland Unified School District and its teachers’ union, which went on strike last Thursday. The strike started strong, with fewer than 10 percent of all students in school and 85 percent of teachers on the picket lines. And it has stayed strong, with pickets, mass rallies, and marches occurring every weekday.
Among many powerful displays of solidarity, from unaffiliated labor unions and devoted community members, one in particular stands out: teachers from ten charter schools across Oakland engaged in a wildcat sympathy strike.
One of these teachers is Catie Tombs, who encouraged thousands of public school teachers to fight privatization at Friday’s mid-day rally. Eighteen of the twenty-six teachers at Tombs’ charter school, ARISE High School, walked out and joined teachers on the picket line at the public school Elmhurst Community Prep.
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