Formation and Early Fights For Collective Bargaining
UTNO was founded in 1937, but for a quarter of a century it struggled. Unions in the city were segregated, and the organization's black membership (affiliated with the AFT) was unable to accomplish much. In 1948, union president Veronica B. Hill was elected an AFT vice president. In 1954, after the AFT amended its constitution to require integrated locals, the affiliate integrated—although most white teachers in New Orleans still belonged to the NEA.
The formation of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City in 1961 electrified teachers in the U.S., and collective bargaining gained momentum across the nation and in Louisiana. The AFT formed a state federation, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, to help counter the strength of the Louisiana Education Association (which opposed collective bargaining and strikes). Both the NEA and AFT teachers' unions in New Orleans, however, pushed the OPSB for the right to bargain collectively. In 1966, the AFT affiliate struck for three days in an attempt to win a contract. But only 10 percent of the city's 5,000 teachers walked off the job.
The AFT struck New Orleans public schools again in 1969, asking all teachers to follow the union onto the picket line. Nearly 1,000 teachers—almost all of them black, and members of the AFT—walked out. Unfortunately, the only schools that closed were those with an overwhelmingly African American student body. The national AFT flew in a large number of national organizing staff to save the strike. The local union established an "anarchy committee" to put pressure on the school district. The "anarchy committee" slashed tires, jammed door locks, and threw cherry bombs into school building toilets. But other unions in the city refused to honor the strike. After black students in several high schools rioted, the African American community withdrew its support for the union. The strike folded after three weeks.
Read more about this topic: United Teachers Of New Orleans
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