A-Infos (en) Black rose fed: #REDFORED - TEACHER STRIKES SHOW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS THE WAY FORWARD By Michael Reagan

There have been growing calls for electoral participation in the wake of the Trump 
presidential victory and the horrendous political and social climate that have come in its 
wake. Most of these voices encourage a social movement strategy called "inside/outside" 
organizing which argues that protest, mobilizations, and disruptions are good, but that 
social movements also need "inside" political actors - elected officials - who are 
sympathetic to movement goals and can help push progressive agendas forward. Many call for 
supporting progressive democrats. Some favor breaking from democrats and creating a third 
party. ---- As logical as the "inside / outside" strategy is, it is a deeply flawed, and 
the movements of teachers and education workers in the "Red for Ed" movement show an 
improved way forward.

A Striking Turnaround
Arizona teachers just won a 20% pay increase after a week long strike that shut down the 
state's schools. Like much of the country, teachers in Arizona faced miserable working 
conditions and underpay, a crisis that only got worse since the 2008 crisis. Their strike 
turned that around. In addition to a 20% pay increase, the state has put hundreds of 
millions of dollars forward for increased education spending, including fully funding the 
cuts from the 2008 crisis, providing tens of millions of building renovation and renewal, 
and millions for improved student mental health resources on campus.

No Allies in Arizona
What is most remarkable, they won in a deeply red state. The state governor, Doug Ducey, 
is an arch-conservative. His policies have included attempts to repeal the Affordable Care 
Act, to support keeping up confederate monuments (Arizona was not in the confederacy), and 
state wide austerity policies that led to 400 firings of state workers. The state 
legislature is dominated by some of the worst republican toads in the country, including 
senator Steven B. Yarbrough who as recently as 2015 argued for harsh cuts to the state 
budget, and JD Mesnard who worked to restrict voting access in his own district. Even with 
these republican conservatives dominating state politics, teachers have won tremendous 
policy transformations.

Outside and Organizing
Why? Because political power is more than just who holds office - it is about building 
power with each other - in the streets, for massive mobilizations and demonstrations - but 
in our jobs too. When we take workplace action like this, our schools, business, and the 
state governments cannot function. This is a tremendous source of power that "trumps" 
whoever may be in office. As the late Howard Zinn wrote, "what matters most is not who is 
sitting in the White House, but "who is sitting-in" - and who is marching outside the 
White House, pushing for change."

The Arizona teachers show this so clearly, as do those of Oklahoma, and West Virgina. So 
too for the students from Parkland Florida, who have transformed their republican 
governor's stance on guns through their direct action.

Instead of "inside / outside" we need a movement strategy that builds organization and 
protest, an "outside & organizing" framework. When we fight this way, we win.

Micheal Reagan is a Seattle based historian and organizer. You can follow him on Twitter 
at @reaganrevoltion

http://blackrosefed.org/teacher-strikes-social-movements/
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