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Eric Blanc writes on labor movements past and present. Formerly a high school teacher in the Bay Area, he is the author of Red State Revolt: The Teachers' Strike Wave and Working-Class Politics.
Socialists have historically played a key role in the US labor movement as part of a broader current of militant rank-and-file workers. The recent teachers’ strike wave shows that to rebuild unions, we have to build that militant current.
To win, fighting back on a citywide and national level isn’t enough. We need a strategy to build working-class power on a statewide level.
Is there a democratic road to socialism? And if so, what does it mean for socialists today?
The teachers strike wave is the most important development in working-class politics in years. Combined with the rise of socialism, chances for a major transformation leftward in American politics are better than ever.
There are four important things to know about strikes in the public sector: strikes must be central to public-sector union strategy, workers need to be willing to strike even if it means breaking labor law, building community support is crucial, and strikes can defeat the Right’s privatization offensive.
Karl Kautsky’s vision for winning democratic socialism is more radical, and more relevant, than most leftists care to admit.
Contrary to the myth that socialists have always ignored gender oppression, women’s suffrage was first won by socialist feminists — and working-class revolt.
Before there was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, there was New York’s Socialist congressman Meyer London. His experience in Washington is full of lessons for us today.
Though educators did not achieve all their demands, Oakland’s teachers strike transformed the city, won important gains, and empowered educators to take on the billionaire education privatizers.
Oakland teachers are on strike today to defeat plans by the superrich to take over and dismantle their public schools.
Within hours of going on strike, West Virginia educators defeated a dangerous education privatization bill. They've again reminded us of a simple truth: strikes work.
One year after their historic victory, West Virginia educators will be going on strike again tomorrow — this time to stop a pro-privatization, anti-union bill.
Striking Denver teachers reached a tentative contract agreement this morning. Though they did not achieve all of their demands, Denver’s educators have wrested important gains from school privatizers — and shown once again the power of teachers withholding their labor.
A public education strike wave continues to sweep the country. Today, it’s the turn of Denver teachers to fight back against the privatizers.
There are many good reasons to oppose Cory Booker’s bid for the presidency. One of the main ones is his long-standing drive to destroy public education.
Republican legislators are trying to crush the teachers' insurgency where it began — West Virginia. But the state's teachers are preparing to strike again to stop them.
The Los Angeles strike wasn’t just a teachers’ victory. It was also a tale of two competing antiracist visions — one upheld by privatizing billionaires and another pushed by working people.
The Los Angeles teachers' strike isn't all about wages. At its core, the strike is a fight against a hostile takeover of public schools by the superrich.
It's official: Los Angeles teachers just announced they are going to strike on January 10. They’re challenging not just public education privatizers, but the Democratic Party establishment.
A strategic focus on uniting the working class doesn’t mean marginalizing the struggle against racism and sexism.