How Bernie Helped Spark the Teachers’ Revolt
Most Democratic presidential contenders are now saying they support striking teachers. But only one candidate can take credit for helping inspire the nationwide educators’ strike wave: Bernie Sanders.
Putnam City West band director Edward Hudson leads the The Oklahoma Teacher Walkout Band, an improvised group of music teachers from across the state, in a pep rally on the steps of the state Capitol on April 4, 2018 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.Scott Heins / Getty
It’s nice to see presidential candidates bending over backwards to profess their support for public school teachers. Faced with the largest educators’ strike wave in US history, the Democratic Party mainstream has, at least in words, reversed its commitment to privatization, austerity, and corporate education reform. Even Mr Charter School himself, Cory Booker, recently showed up in Chicago to support striking educators.
But only one candidate deserves credit for helping spark the teacher upsurge in the first place. And that person’s name is Bernie Sanders.
Bernie’s 2016 primary run played a crucial role in legitimizing class-struggle politics and inspiring strike leaders in each of the red states that experienced illegal statewide walkouts in early 2018 — West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Arizona. This behind-the-scenes story was not well publicized at the time, since strike leaders in the heat of the battle were understandably reluctant to give Republican red-baiters further ammunition to denounce the movement.
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