A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #364 - Unionism - National Education: Tutorial for a Successful Strike (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

A UCL colleague led a successful month-long strike at his middle school. 
A look back at this experience. ---- From the start of the school year, 
an austere work climate was evident, with a lack of organization and 
management's authority evident. Facilitated by a listening stance, the 
colleagues' dismay and fatigue were quickly expressed in the staff room. 
This process of reflection was essential for connecting the dots between 
the different situations. In a middle school where colleagues are very 
distant from politics, the transition from individual suffering to 
awareness of a structural problem laid the foundation for a collective 
struggle.

Months passed, but colleagues still did not dare to engage in a power 
struggle despite the fatigue and helplessness that set in. At a general 
assembly, a UCL colleague recounted how the struggle at another middle 
school where he worked succeeded in bringing down a management team. 
Optimism then returned. A few weeks later, a new authoritarian event 
occurred, the final straw. This time, we were ready and prepared. A 
union information session was organized, and the strike was voted on by 
80% of permanent staff, with a single demand: the leader's departure! 
Thus, a month-long, renewable strike began.

Three unions supported the struggle: the FSU, the CGT Éduc'Action, and 
SUD Éducation. This provided material assistance (financial or via 
megaphone), support during meetings with the education authority, and 
advice on how to lead the struggle. In addition to this valuable 
support, it was essential that the struggle be led by the people 
concerned. As libertarian communists, we pushed for self-managed 
struggles. Thus, general assemblies were held daily to decide on the 
actions to be taken. It was therefore important that everyone be able to 
get involved in the struggle in order to keep the collective strong. So 
we'll be creating comic strips, creating banners, leaflets, meeting with 
parents, speaking at demonstrations...

The days of the strike are ticking by, and the financial issue is 
becoming increasingly real. Fortunately, a strike fund is created from 
the first general meetings, and the inter-union organization provides 
significant financial support. This allows us to last a month. Faced 
with the proliferation of articles in the press, the parents' legitimate 
anger over the lack of teaching, and their determination still strong, 
the education authority announces the principal's departure! It's a victory!

However, this victory is also painful; a month of strike is also a month 
of stress and profound fatigue, which leads to numerous work stoppages 
after the struggle. When suffering threatens to derail a struggle, what 
keeps us going is the collective, and it's the same for the revolution! 
So, "let's band together, and tomorrow..."

L.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Education-nationale-Tuto-pour-une-greve-victorieuse
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