On January 19, 2017, tens of thousands of UTLA members, students, parents, and allies at hundreds of schools across the region protested the inauguration of Donald Trump. They carried signs in the shape of shields that would become iconic across Los Angeles — among them “Shield Against Racism and Sexism,” “Shield Against Homophobia and Transphobia,” “Shield Against Islamophobia and Antisemitism,” “Shield Against Immigrant Detention and Deportation,” and “Shield Against Union-Busting.” The action was part of national protests coordinated by the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS), a labor/community coalition including the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the Service Employees International Union, Journey for Justice, Center for Popular Democracy, Alliance for Educational Justice, and more.

Labor needed to come out swinging so students and families could see educators fighting for community rights. UTLA used the protest to expand rank-and-file members’ understanding of their role in national politics, a sphere too often characterized by deference to national unions and convenings with little relationship to organizing. The action was another step toward building the union’s supermajority structures: systematically constructed member and staff committees, teams, and infrastructure that allow all 35,000 members to be engaged in dialogue and action. The process of building the protest against Trump was particularly productive because it involved constructive struggle with some members who voted for Trump, others afraid of alienating those who voted for Trump, and still others who saw UTLA’s purview as only local.

As Trump prepared to enter office in 2017, UTLA swung into action in additional ways to defend the rights of the most vulnerable. We held region-wide forums on defending immigrant rights and blocking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. The union made a large financial donation to assist with hurried Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewals. UTLA had a large presence at the May Day 2017 rallies, with many members refusing to go to work.