“The roles and responsibilities of unions have come
under renewed scrutiny … with government hostility
… heated rhetoric and legislative trial balloons …
Much of this is facilitated by the current economic
insecurity which reinforces individualistic attitudes
and often results in resentment directed at those
who have it less bad (specifically as a result of union
membership and the benefits that go along with it);
a general lack of awareness of how much, exactly,
society owes to the victories that labour unions have
won for all workers and their families (like workplace
safety standards, maternity leave, overtime vacations,
child labour laws, etc.) - not to mention a lack of
understanding of the rules by which unions operate;
and those in positions of power growing evermore
eager to use the tools at their disposal (corporate
or legislative) to challenge the rights of unions to
freely engage in the collective bargaining process
to improve the lot of the workers they represent ...
(There is a) role unions - specifically teacher unions
- have played and continue to play in fighting for
social progress and the protection and expansion
of basic rights that are now often taken for granted
... classrooms and school communities are (also)
implicated in these struggles to make the world
fairer, more equitable and more just.
Erika Shaker. (2013). On the Front Lines: Teachers, Unions
and Social Progress. Our Schools/Our Selves.