LOS ANGELES, May 15 — About two months ago, Reduction in Force (RIF) notices were given to over 8,000 teachers in our school district, in essence laying them off for the next school year. About a month after that at a union meeting, PL’ers introduced a resolution for teachers to strike on May Day (May 1st). The union hacks suggested that we strike on any day BUT May Day. They said it would “distract from our issues” to march with the rest of the working class.

At one school, there was a “new teacher meeting” a few days after this union meeting. Almost all the new teachers had received RIF notices and were not interested in what the principal had to say about next year. They weren’t even sure if they would have a job next year! They wanted to know why the union wasn’t truly fighting for them. The union chair gave the company line, saying the union “had to think of all the teachers in the district” and not just those at one school. Of course, that school is majority working-class black and Latino students and almost a third of the staff got RIF’ed, while the rich schools only had two or three teachers laid off!

A PL teacher stood up and said that teachers didn’t have to rely on the union; we could do our own wildcat action on May Day, like the original resolution had proposed. The new teachers loved the idea! One said that the PL’er should be their spokesperson, not the union rep. They shamed the union rep so much that she had the teachers at the school vote whether or not they wanted to stay out for one hour on May Day, and 90% of the teachers voted yes!

May Day 2009 saw teachers (not to mention quite a few students) marching in front of the school for the first hour of the school day, chanting “The teachers united will never be defeated” and “Maestros luchando también están enseñando (teachers in struggle are also teaching).” There were quite a few political discussions amongst teachers about the system and the historical importance of May Day, especially those new teachers. One conversation centered around a recent murder/suicide committed by a laid-off worker at a local hospital who not only shot his boss, but also his boss’s boss before he shot himself. One teacher commented that if he was going to do it, he should have gotten the people at the very top. “And the system,” was added. She agreed completely. She, and about five other new teachers are now getting CHALLENGE regularly.

The teachers went back inside the school after 9 am, but during 3rd period the students walked out in support of the teachers! They held up signs, marched around inside the school and even tried to march around the outside of the school before being threatened with tickets and having to come back inside the campus. About 200 students walked out. “Next time,” they promised as they came back into class, “the walkout will be even better.” What a day! What a May Day full of class struggle! Now we must make the rest of the year full of communist class struggle.