“Hipster Unionism”: A Cultural History of the Movement for Social Justice in Teachers’ Unions

• In Event: Social Justice Activism and Unionism: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

In this paper, I will trace the cultural history of a national network of social justice caucuses within teachers’ unions. This study will draw on the methodology of historical ethnography to explore how teacher organizers remember and commemorate the movement for social justice within and through teachers’ unions. Drawing on oral history interviews, participant observation, and extensive document analysis, this study argues that teacher organizers in the UCORE network are developing a new form of unionism that goes beyond existing definitions of “social justice unionism” or “social movement unionism.” In doing so, it contributes to the literature on the history teachers’ unions.

Author

• Lauren Ware Stark, University of Virginia