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In Minnesota, nurses recently ended a three-day strike. They’re highly trained professionals, mostly women, who are tired of being underpaid and overworked. Sound familiar?
Educators know this experience all too well.
In recent weeks, the “teacher shortage crisis” has loomed large over back-to-school news. But as many have pointed out, this nomenclature obscures the true nature of the problem. There is no shortage of qualified teachers in the United States (although enrollment at education schools does show troubling declines). Instead, we have a shortage of teachers willing to forgo their mental wellness and financial stability in exchange for public scorn. We do not have a “shortage crisis.” We have a burnout crisis. And we cannot solve the teacher burnout crisis without solidarity.
Organizing for Change at Your School
It can begin at the school level. First, teachers must organize with teachers. This work is more difficult and rare than you might think. I taught in several different public schools in New York City. Our city teachers’ union has a reputation for being strong, but most schools I taught in did not have well functioning union chapters.
Even without a union, you can organize with fellow teachers informally. Find opportunities to build community and discuss your shared hopes for your school community. You may not have the same collective bargaining powers as a union, but you can still find ways to work together.
But to truly fight this burnout crisis, we need to think beyond organizing with fellow teachers. Starting at our schools, teachers need to talk with other school workers, including nurses, custodians, and cafeteria staff. Many of our fellow workers are paid poverty wages to do the work that makes our schools function. While many teachers bemoan the reality that they cannot afford to buy a home, our fellow school workers are worried about paying their rent.
The kind of cross-class, multiracial organizing we need to end the burnout crisis can begin in our schools. We have to get over the thinking that our professional degrees entitle us to better treatment. While we’re doing better than many, we’re still being exploited by the same system. Racism and classism have tricked many of us into thinking our fight is our own.
Teachers Aren’t the Only Ones Burning Out
But as the Minnesota nurses’ strike illustrates, we’re not alone. Rail workers were hours away from also going on strike last week. Among the outrageous demands they made was “time off for medical appointments.”
Besides strikes, there are numerous signs the burnout crisis is affecting a wide range of professions across the United States.
Labor shortages have been a major storyline in the food service industry, meat and dairy industry, farming and agriculture, among others. Like healthcare and education, COVID has hit these frontline professions hard. But, relative to other essential workers, educators have been better protected from sickness and death.
It’s worth noting the tragic reality at play here. In several industries, there is a true shortage being caused by COVID deaths and illnesses. We’ve lost more than 1 million Americans since the pandemic started. And one study found that long COVID may be keeping as many as 4 million people out of work. The unchecked spread of COVID is another sign of a system that does care about its workers.
But while it’s true that COVID has impacted a lot of professions, it’s also true that burnout caused by poor working conditions and low pay was already widespread.
Signs of Hope
Along with these negative signs of burnout, there are also signs of hope. As of June 2022, unions won more elections than they have in nearly 20 years. Across the U.S., workers are tired and fed up. And we’re doing something about it!
Educators should take note. We should not only follow the lead of other workers saying, “Enough is enough,” we should find ways to support them and fight alongside them.
What might this look like? One way to start could be examining classism in our classrooms. For example, we can show solidarity through our choice of language. Many teachers use future careers to highlight the importance of hard work. I hope the cliched warning, “You don’t want to end up flipping burgers,” has died out. But I know there are ways this mindset persists even if we’ve learned to be more diplomatic. We can find better ways to invest students in learning than disparaging workers.
We should also fight classism by treating fellow school workers as true colleagues. I have made the mistake of speaking down to paraprofessionals and custodians, and I’m ashamed. Students notice what we say and how we say it. We must demonstrate respect for our fellow workers, regardless of title.
Educators can also show solidarity by teaching about the issues different workers face. For example, one year, I built income inequality into a fifth-grade unit on multiplication and division. By the end of the unit, my students were using division to study the disparity between Nike retail workers and the Nike CEO. Let’s build class solidarity into our curricula. And if a strike or unionization effort is going on in your community, talk about it with students, just as you would with other major current events.
We can also offer material support to fellow workers in their efforts to strike or unionize. Whether it’s joining them on the picket line, providing food or drinks, donating to mutual aid efforts, or offering child care, there are many ways we can show up for fellow workers.
The Potential of True Solidarity
Perhaps the most powerful and difficult path forward would be to strike together. For many reasons, general strikes have been rare in the United States. And a general strike may still be elusive. But it’s hard not to feel like we may be on the precipice of one. “Quiet quitting,” “The Great Resignation,” strikes, and unionization are all signs that U.S. workers are tired. A general strike – one with teachers joining other workers across professions – could be the tool we need to end the burnout crisis once and for all.
Ultimately, teachers must recognize that fast food workers’ fight for a livable minimum wage is connected to our fight for fully funded schools. The fight for safe working conditions in warehouses and meatpacking plants is connected to the fight for air conditioning in our classrooms. Our shared struggle is against the powerful minority who hoard their wealth while our communities starve for resources.
One classic union saying goes, “United we bargain, alone we beg.” This is not just true for individuals but for professions. If we join with fellow workers, there’s no limit to what we could accomplish for our schools and communities.
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