Tales from the Reuther Library
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Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008
Dr. Jesse Chanin describes how the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) gained power and influence in a region hostile to unions from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s by building trust in the community with transparent and democratic decision-making and a focus on racial and economic justice to improve the lives of the New Orleans community. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, however, politicians and charter school advocates fired 7,500 educators in New Orleans, dismantling the city’s public education system and decimating the union.
Dr. Chanin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Coalition for Compassionate Schools and the author of Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008.
Related Resources:
Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008
Related Collections:
AFT Inventory Part II Records
AFT Organizing Department Records
AFT Office of the President Records
AFT President’s Office: Albert Shanker Records
AFT Secretary-Treasurer’s Office Records
AFT Southern Regional Office Records
Episode Credits
Interviewee: Jesse Chanin
Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English
Music: Bart Bealmear