longer.blue

These teachers are showing the country what organized, collective resistance actually looks like. They’re standing shoulder to shoulder, refusing to return to their classrooms until meaningful change is won, not symbolic gestures, not empty promises, but real commitments that address the crisis in public education. More than 6,000 educators in San Francisco walked off the job Monday, marking the first strike of this scale in nearly half a century. Their demands are not radical; they are practical and urgent. Smaller class sizes so students can receive the attention they deserve. Living wages so that teachers, many of whom work second jobs, can afford to live in the communities they serve. Safe, fully staffed schools. These are foundational requirements for a functioning public education system. The strike has galvanized widespread support. Parents have joined the picket lines, recognizing that this fight is not just about teachers’ paychecks, it’s about their children’s futures. Thousands rallied downtown, demanding that the school district stop balancing budgets on the backs of educators and instead invest in the people who make schools work every day. As teaching coach Annie Wen said, “We don’t want to be striking … we just got news … that schools are going to be closed tomorrow. So it feels like a big F-U to us.” That frustration reflects years of feeling unheard, undervalued, and pushed to the brink. And San Francisco is not alone. Other districts across California are poised to strike. Educators are drawing a line, insisting that public education cannot survive continued underfunding, overcrowding, and burnout. This moment extends beyond one city or one profession. Across the country, communities are confronting policies they believe undermine workers’ rights, immigrant protections, environmental safeguards, and civil liberties. Democratic leaders in Congress have announced they will block additional funding for ICE unless enforcement policies are significantly scaled back and judicial warrants are required. Meanwhile, the administration has moved to revoke the 2009 EPA “endangerment finding,” a cornerstone of federal greenhouse gas regulation, prompting states like California, New York, and Washington to prepare coordinated legal challenges aimed at defending environmental protections. What we are witnessing is a broader struggle over priorities: Who does government serve? Corporations or communities? Short-term political agendas or long-term public well-being? For many activists and organizers, the lesson from the teachers’ strike is clear: sustained, collective action matters. Change rarely comes from isolated efforts. It comes when labor groups, civil rights organizations, environmental advocates, healthcare workers, educators, and community leaders find common ground and coordinate their efforts, peacefully, strategically, and persistently. Calls for broader action, including general strikes, reflect a desire for unity across movements. Whether in immigration reform, healthcare access, voting rights, climate policy, or education funding, the underlying principle is the same: democratic participation does not end at the ballot box. It includes organizing, protesting, litigating, voting, and holding institutions accountable. If there is one message resonating from the picket lines, it is this: ordinary people have power when they act together. Conversations in workplaces, neighborhoods, faith communities, and local organizations matter. Engagement matters. Civic participation matters. Change begins locally but can ripple nationally. It starts with people deciding that silence is not an option, and that collective, peaceful action is a force capable of reshaping the future. It starts with YOU.