“The Orange One” or “The Cheeto” as my coworkers refer to Trump, is trying to terrorize immigrant families. But resistance is sweeping the country, first and foremost among public school workers who are determined to defend their students. Inspiring mobilizations have happened from Chicago to Los Angeles, including where I work.
I’m a secretary at a Seattle area high school where a large percentage of students are immigrants, refugees, and the children of immigrants of various legal statuses. After Trump’s election, a number of staff jumped into action.
Our organizing has taken many forms and the lesson is that every act, no matter how small, is important and builds momentum. Two days after the election a handful of us hurriedly made signs of encouragement in Spanish, English and Samoan that we held up as students arrived in school buses. The smiles on their faces lifted the mood of doom and gloom.
Next, at the end of our school’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly — organized by students and filled with beautiful speeches, poetry and song — dozens of staff came forward holding signs that said “I support undocumented students.” Then we passed the microphone around to express solidarity in many different languages — we are a very multi-national and bilingual group. The students cheered.
Several of us now regularly meet after work to strategize on how we can support students, get information to families and keep up on the latest developments. And we are not alone.
Above: Sample of a card to give to law enforcement if you choose to remain silent. See ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas for card formats in other languages.
More and more teachers and school workers from across our district are gathering, sharing notes and participating in trainings on how to shield students and colleagues if immigration officials attempt to enter our schools. People from neighboring districts are joining this tide of resistance.
As Trump announced plans to abolish the U.S. Department of Education and “woke” policies, our school board pushed back. At the March 5 board meeting there was mass turnout to support a resolution proposed by district leadership to defend diversity, equity and the rights of immigrant and trans students. Members of the teachers union, Teamsters, parents and community testified with one voice. The resolution passed unanimously.
I’m a shop steward with Teamsters Local 763, which represents around 1,000 classified employees in my district, such as paraeducators, office and kitchen staff, custodians, and bus drivers. At our February meeting the membership overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that commits “to organizing united fronts for mutual defense with other unions and communities under attack, including immigrant workers, refugees, communities of color, public worker unions, women and transgender people.” ¡Sí se puede!
To learn more about or get involved with organizing in the Pacific Northwest, email the author at FSnews@socialism.com.
