When "Teachers Want What Children Need”: Reconciling Tensions in Teachers’ Work and Teacher Unionism

Abstract

"Teachers want what children need—or do they?" Questioning—and rejecting—the slogan used by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to fight for collective bargaining in the 1960s, David K. Cohen, a contributor to Socialist Revolution, in 1969 dismissed the progressive potential of teachers' unions. This article revisits the AFT's slogan and Cohen's question, examining tensions between "what teachers want" and "what children need." The history of U.S. teacher unionism supports the argument that when teachers' unions adopt a "social movement" orientation and press against the confines of the scope of bargaining embedded in collective-bargaining agreements, the unions minimize tensions between teachers' rights to organize as workers in defense of their material interests and the unique political and social responsibilities of their work.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.