Picture of Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike in 2019. Strikes are last-resort measures to force the decision-making structure to take seriously the demands of people who are not being included in the decision-making process. Unions in general have been one structural way to change how governance occurs by leveraging labor power. In the 2019 CTU strike, teachers demanded common-good changes in Chicago Public Schools, including more resources for bilingual education and houseless students. This is one example of actions that can influence decision-making without the requirement of specialized academic credentials (instead, valuing life experience and labor relations). Image courtesy of Natalia Piland.
