In this month when we honor the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, it is important to highlight the critical role of unions in standing up for the rights of historically marginalized groups of people, especially when it was not easy or comfortable to do so. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was the first predominately African-American union and leaders like E.D. Nixon and A. Phillip Randolph were instrumental to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and the March on Washington in 1963. When MLK was jailed in Birmingham for participating in non-violent civil disobedience that was met with violent repression by police, he wrote a letter to fellow religious leaders about the common humanity of all people and said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
This message was a guiding principle for the SDEA Board of Directors and SDEA Representative Council as we reflected on our role as educators and a union in relation to the crisis in Israel and Palestine. After thoughtful and respectful discussions, we voted to join other unions in signing on to the US Labor Movement’s Call for Ceasefire in Israel and Palestine.
The heartbreaking loss of life and the ongoing conflict and trauma for the people of Palestine and Israel are beyond comprehension. We believe that everyone deserves to live in peace. To be able to work and find sanctuary and joy in our communities and homes. To send our children to school. To see our children grow. With sincerity and open hearts, we add our voices to the many who have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.
We will now engage our state union, California Teachers Association, and our national union, National Education Association, on how to use our collective influence to move the United States government to implement the demands in the statement.
The process that we engaged in as a union when deciding to sign on to this statement is consistent with our classroom environments that uplift our students’ shared humanity enriched by their diverse life experiences and perspectives. It is important that we continue cultivating spaces for dialogue where we enter with open minds and seek to find common ground. This strengthens our union’s democracy and generates the unity and power that we need to win the schools our students deserve. As SDEA elected leaders, we are proud of our union’s ability to deliberate and take action regarding the crisis in Israel and Palestine in a way that builds our solidarity and our educator movement.
