Education unions make their mark at the Women’s March for rights

Teachers and educators joined millions at Women’s Marches around the world, showing strength in numbers and solidarity in support of women’s rights, equality, diversity, and respect for human dignity.

As protesters against the new administration in the United States of America took to the streets of the world’s largest cities on Saturday, 22 January, the day after President Trump’s inauguration, education unions joined the marches to show solidarity with the Women’s March in Washington, DC.

In an extraordinary display of democratic and civic engagement, there were at least half a million marchers in Washington, DC, and close to that number in New York city. They were joined by marchers in cities across the globe, from Amsterdam to Brasilia, Vancouver to Tel Aviv, Paris to Nairobi. According to news reports, the Chicago protest, which gathered together 250,000 people, was so large that police had to stop them from marching for safety reasons. Collectively, globally, marchers carried signs and shouted, “We are not going away”.

The marches were triggered by comments made by President Trump in his election campaign with millions of women - mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, aunts - joined by male friends and allies - demanding respect for everybody, independent of their race, gender or religion.

Education International (EI), which sent a delegation of staff to the march in Brussels, had affiliates in marches in many cities.

AFT video of union President Randi Weingarten speaking at march