November 7: The UFT’s First Strike

More than 5,000 New York City teachers, 10 percent of the teaching work force, went on strike today in 1960, demanding recognition for their newly formed United Federation of Teachers. Another 2,000 teachers called in sick. More than 50 percent of New York’s teachers were Jewish women, according to Rebecca Kobrin (at the Jewish Women’s Archive). Their working conditions included a pension system that did not kick in before 35 years of service; a mandatory two-year unpaid maternity leave after giving birth; unrestricted firing power on the part of principals; hugely overcrowded schools; and a salary of $66 per week (a little over $21,000 in today’s dollars). The strike lasted only one day but won recognition for the UFT within months — a major labor accomplishment within a working population that had been divided into some 106 professional associations based on ethnicity, religion, grade levels, politics geography, and more.

“Can teachers ever be organized? Well, no they can’t be. Because they’re snobs. They think of themselves as professionals. Most of them are women who don’t need the money. Right? Whoa, I’m not saying that. That’s a quote from a lot of discussions in teacher rooms as to why this would never happen.” —Albert Shanker