Introduction
1 Corey Robin, “Striking Teachers Are ‘Real Resistance’ to ‘Incoherent’ Republicans and ‘Gutted’ Dems,” interview by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, April 12, 2018, democracynow.org.
2 Cited in Lynn Parramore, “The Corporate Plan to Groom U.S. Kids for Servitude by Wiping Out Public Schools,” Institute for New Economic Thinking, April 6, 2018, ineteconomics.org.
1. The Roots of Revolt
1 Markos “Kos” Moulitsas, “Be Happy for Coal Miners Losing Their Health Insurance. They’re Getting Exactly What They Voted For,” Daily Kos, December 12, 2016, dailykos.com.
2 Jonathan Chait, “Here’s the Real Reason Everybody Thought Trump Would Lose,” New York Magazine, May 11, 2016, nymag.com.
3 Sean McElwee and Jason McDaniel, “Fear of Diversity Made People More Likely to Vote Trump,” Nation, March 14, 2017, thenation.com.
4 Frank Rich, “No Sympathy for the Hillbilly,” New York Magazine, March 20, 2017, nymag.com.
5 National Education Association, Rankings of the States 2017 and Estimates of School Statistics 2018, Washington, DC: NEA, 2018. Unless otherwise noted, all statistics on teacher pay, state funding, school size, etc. come from this comprehensive NEA study.
6 Desiree Carver-Thomas and Linda Darling-Hammond, Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It, Palo Alto: Learning Policy Institute, 2018.
7 Michael Winters, “Where Do US Teacher Salaries Really Go the Furthest?” EdSurge, June 1, 2017, edsurge.com.
8 Michael Leachman, Kathleen Masterson, and Eric Figueroa, “A Punishing Decade for School Funding,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 29, 2017, cbpp.org.
9 Inez Feltscher Stepman, “Arizona Leaps into Innovative Educational Future with Universal ESAs,” American Legislative Exchange Council, April 12, 2017, alec.org.
10 “After Years of Legislative Failure, Oklahoma Teachers Are Ready to Strike,” Tulsa World, March 25, 2018, tulsaworld.com.
11 Martin Gilens, Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, 81.
12 Meagan Day, “The Myth of the Temporarily Embarrassed Millionaire,” Jacobin, March 23, 2018, jacobinmag.com.
13 Alex Rowell and David Madland, “The Working-Class Push for Progressive Economic Policies,” Center for American Progress Action Fund, April 17, 2018, americanprogressaction.org.
14 Niraj Chokshi, “75 Percent of Americans Say Immigration Is Good for Country, Poll Finds,” New York Times, June 23, 2018, nytimes.com; Andrew Arenge, Stephanie Perry and Dartunorro Clark, “Poll: 64 Percent of Americans Say Racism Remains a Major Problem,” NBC News, May 29, 2018, nbcnews.com.
15 Jackie Mader, “Poll Finds Southern Voters Want More Education Spending,” Hetchinger Report, February 13, 2018, hechingerreport.org.
16 Cited in Michael Kruse and Burgess Everett, “Manchin in the Middle,” Politico Magazine, March/April 2017, politico.com.
17 Cited in Joe Burns, “A Strategy Based on Strikes Means Breaking the Law,” Labor Notes, April 16, 2013, labornotes.org.
2. The Power of Strikes
1 Jane McAlevey, No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age, New York: Oxford University Press, 2016, 28.
2 Jon Gabriel, “If Arizona Teachers Strike Now, It’s a War against Parents, Not Politicians,” Arizona Republic, April 24, 2018, azcentral.com.
3 Eric Blanc, “Arizona Versus the Privatizers,” Jacobin, April 30, 2018, jacobinmag.org.
4 Cited in “Arizona Teachers Group Challenges Idea That Walkout Is an Illegal Strike,” KTAR News, April 30, 2018, ktar.com.
5 Cited in Jake Jarvis, “State Superintendent Reflects on Teacher Strike,” State Journal, March 14, 2018, wvnews.com.
6 Cited in Joe Burns, Strike Back: Using the Militant Tactics of Labor’s Past to Reignite Public Sector Unionism Today, New York: Ig Publishing, 2014, 147.
7 Dave Ruthenberg, “The Union Behind the Walkout,” Enid News and Eagle, April 11, 2018, enidnews.com.
8 Susan Berry, “Arizona Elementary Teacher Leading Strike: ‘Teaching Is Political,’ ” Breitbart, April 24, 2018, breitbart.com.
9 Maria Syms, “#RedForEd Leaders Are Not As Nonpartisan as They Claim,” The Arizona Republic, April 24, 2018.
10 Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates, A Survey of 5,487 Holding Oklahoma Teaching Certifications but Not Currently Teaching in Oklahoma Public Schools under the Age of 65, Oklahoma City: Oklahoma State Department of Education, September–October 2017, sde.ok.gov.
11 Alexia Fernández Campbell, “Most Republicans and Democrats Agree That American Teachers Need a Raise,” Vox, April 24, 2018, vox.com.
12 “OSU Coach Mike Gundy: ‘I’m 100 percent behind our educators’,” April 5, 2018, koco.com
3. The Militant Minority
1 Cited in Ryan Quinn, “Mingo, Logan School Employees Planning 1-Day Walkout; Others May Join,” Charleston Gazette-Mail, January 29, 2018, wvgazettemail.com.
2 Cited in Hamilton Nolan, “Randi Weingarten Has ‘Hope in the Darkness.’ And Also Some Fear,” Splinter News, July 2, 2018, splinternews.com.
3 Juliana Keeping, “Bernie Sanders Rocks Crowd of Supporters in Oklahoma City,” The Oklahoman, February 28, 2016.
4 Burt Mummolo, “Oklahoma Teachers Planning a Statewide Strike,” KTUL, March 2, 2018, ktul.com.
5 Oklahoma also has an AFT chapter, which organizes teachers in Oklahoma City. But, like in Arizona, the AFT was far smaller and played no independent political role in the movement or walkout.
6 Maria Syms, “#RedForEd Leaders Are Not as Nonpartisan as They Claim,” Arizona Republic, April 24, 2018, azcentral.com.
7 Susan Berry, “Arizona Elementary Teacher Leading Strike: ‘Teaching Is Political’,” breitbart.com, April 24, 2018.
8 Noah Karvelis, “From Marx to Trump: Labor’s Role in Revolution,” Medium, February 23, 2017, medium.com.
9 Ricardo Cano, “Arizona Teacher Union’s Governor Endorsement in Midst of Protest Criticized,” Arizona Republic, March 9, 2018, azcentral.com.
10 Cited in Ibid.
11 Kentucky’s inability to transition to an indefinite work stoppage at this very moment in April demonstrates the dangers of failing to strike when the iron is hot. Some of the reasons for the surprising absence of an extended work stoppage in Kentucky are touched on in Pranav Jani, “Where Will the Struggle Lead Kentucky Teachers?” Socialist Worker, April 13, 2018, socialistworker.org.
12 Joseph Flaherty, “Arizona Schools Chief Diane Douglas Threatens Teachers Over Strike, Says It’s ‘Not Legal,’ ” Phoenix News Times, April 24, 2018.
13 “‘It’s Official: We Have A Deal!’ Gov. Ducey Announces Deal For 20% Teacher Raise,” azfamily.com, April 27, 2018.
14 Rebecca Garelli, Noah Karvelis, Dylan Wegela, “The Outcome in Arizona,” Jacobin, May 3, 2018, jacobinmag.com.
Epilogue: Looking Ahead
1 Jane McAlevey and Eric Blanc, “A Strategy to Win,” Jacobin, April 18, 2018, jacobinmag.com.