Support the teachers of Puerto Rico who fight for the rights of us all!

New York support demonstration for the FMPR, March 4. WW photo

The Teachers Federation of Puerto Rico Support Committee-NY issued the following statement on the eve of a March 4 New York City demonstration in support of the teachers and in defense of public education.

A crucial strike for all working people is now taking place in Puerto Rico! The island’s biggest labor union is waging a fight for survival, for free public education and against the privatization of schools. At stake are the universal right to unionize, to collective bargaining, to strike and workers’ rights and the basic right of freedom of expression.

The Teachers’ Federation of Puerto Rico (FMPR) has been on strike since February 21, 2008, in a life-and-death struggle against the anti-labor and repressive crusade of the colonial government.

The colonial administration of Aníbal Acevedo Vilá has been refusing to negotiate for more than 27 months with no contract. With more than 40,000 members, mainly women, the Federation has refused to be intimidated and is taking a courageous stand for the rights of all.

The government’s contempt for teachers, students and parents, as well as for their input in education, is so extreme that it locked out the teachers throughout the island, as well as hundreds of thousands of students, for two weeks during April-May 2006. The government, facing a fiscal crisis, was forcing the public sectors to endure the brunt of the crisis.

Now SEIU chief Dennis Rivera helped get the Puerto Rico teachers union ousted so he could hijack members. While the clash between the teachers’ militant leaders and the government was grabbing the headlines, Rivera was maneuvering to snatch control of the teachers for his Service Employees International Union.

Puerto Rico Governor Acevedo Vilá’s Secretary of Education, Aragunde, has ruled that the federation will not be permitted to run in any new elections for a union to represent the teachers.

More than support statements are needed! As support grows among workers, union members and independent unions in Puerto Rico and internationally, our support NOW will make a difference!! With growing potential for other unions in Puerto Rico to walk out in solidarity, public pressure greatly intensifies on the anti-worker union-busting administration in Puerto Rico. Already, the colonial government faces a social and political crisis, as the school strike affects every part of the island. Solidarity actions by workers everywhere in support of the Puerto Rican teachers are crucial.