Strength Through Solidarity – English Teacher Worker Group Chile

IN NOVEMBER 2019, a month into the Chilean uprising against massive inequality, I published an Open Letter to the English Teaching Community in Chile. ‘Chile has woken up’ I wrote, ‘and we have the duty of not being neutral. We must be vocal and demand the changes that need to be made.’

And while there are big changes on the horizon, with the people of Chile voting overwhelmingly to approve the drafting of a new constitution in 2020, what changes have we seen in the world of Chilean ELT?

English Teacher Workers Chile

The English Teacher Worker Group in Chile was born out of a Facebook thread that asked, ‘Why are so many teachers in Chile fired every December?’ A huge number of teachers commented, with many recounting awful work experiences of being mistreated and fired, combined with theories on why it is so widespread.

Filled with a naive enthusiasm the TaW Facebook group was founded and we adopted the TaWSig Aims and Goals as our own. With the wind of change blowing through Chile we would join the fight for fair pay and dignity. Of course, it wasn’t that simple.

What Went Wrong?

While almost 1700 teachers joined the Facebook group, and initial meetings were promising, several factors slowed us down.

As Chris B wrote last year in Where is The Solidarity?: ‘Those of you with contacts and a voice, it’s time you stood up for your colleagues … Stand up for yourselves and your colleagues now. Demand fairness, equity, and safe working conditions.’

So, where is the solidarity?

There is solidarity on the streets among protesters facing violent repression. There is solidarity within the active members of our group – be it gay, straight, old, young, experienced, ‘native’ or ‘non-native’ – as so many of our experiences are so similar. But solidarity within English Language Teaching in Chile? Do me a favour!

There are those who argue for teacher empowerment but undermine collective, grassroots efforts that give teachers a voice, even if teacher’s voices are at the very heart of the organisation.

There are those who utilise the principles of ‘criticality’ not to push back against those who hold the power in the industry, but to problematise relationships and hierarchies within worker’s rights organisations. Is it not possible to acknowledge one’s privilege (I am a white, foreign, male, ‘native-speaker’) and yet still stand up for what is right and fair?

There are the gatekeepers of Facebook groups and teacher organisations who reject sharing information for the benefit of members, let alone standing up on their behalf. And of course, there are those who have managed to climb the tree and certainly don’t want the crowd at the bottom to climb up after them. 

So how do we work towards a pro-teacher space, or organisation, that advocates for ordinary working teachers and their everyday experiences if so many within the profession work against us?

How do we fight discrimination in ELT such as native-speakerism? How do we give English teachers in Chile a voice and representation that works in their favour? How do we build power? 

The answer to these questions is, of course, solidarity.

Strength through solidarity

I’ve been forced to leave a job due to union membership, witnessed and suffered from workplace bullying, and been fired. I borrowed money to survive and saw my mental health suffer. I would not wish these experiences on my worst enemy. But, like so many, after investing time and effort in (routinely unpaid) training and personally paying for a post-graduate qualification, do I now leave my profession and become a plumber?

If we want to make the changes so desperately needed in English language teaching in Chile we can only do it together, from a position of strength, not as easily picked-off individuals, one paltry pay packet from doom.

The English Teacher Worker Group in Chile is proud to be part of the Teachers as Workers SIG. We also support our Irish colleagues at Unite ELT and the IWW TEFL Workers Union.

Join Now!

TaWSIG members come in all shapes and sizes. If you want a voice, want to fight for better working conditions or find like-minded colleagues then join us today.

–Kevin Towl

English Teacher Workers Chile

Email: englishteacherworker@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/EnglishTeacherWorkerChile

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglishWorker

Image credit:

Protesters in Plaza Baquedano on 8 November 2019
By B1mbo – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0