Meeting supports teachers in Puerto Rico

FMPR President Rafael Feliciano

An April 4 meeting held at Hunter College in New York City to support the FMPR (Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico), the teachers union in Puerto Rico that went out on strike from Feb. 21 to March 5, drew more than 100 people.

There was strong participation from New York’s United Federation of Teachers, which represents teachers of kindergarten through 12th grade; and from the Professional Staff Congress, the union that represents teachers and staff at the City University of New York. Outside the union movement, many members of the Latin@ community in New York also came out to show their solidarity.

Norma Pérez

Norma Pérez, a member of the UFT, spoke on how the FMPR Solidarity Committee in New York was formed and the role it played in the strike. Tania Hernández spoke on how she and other women teachers—a majority of the strikers—militantly confronted the cops. Some short videos on the picket lines and how they resisted the cops’ attacks were shown.

The meeting was primarily conducted in Spanish, with some translation for monolingual English speakers.

—Report and photos by G. Dunkel