Jacobin Radio: LA Teachers, and Fossil Fuel Transitions

<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Suzi speaks to energy specialist and author Simon Pirani about his new book, Burning Up: A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption that traces the relentless rise in oil, gas, and coal use since the mid-twentieth century </font>— and shows how consumption has grown fastest since the discovery of global warming in the 1980s. Simon argues that fuels are mainly consumed through technological systems, which are in turn embedded in social, economic, and political systems — and that the transition away from fossil fuels will mean the transformation of all of these.

Then: the LA teachers strike is on! Suzi talks toArlene Inouye, secretary of United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) and co-chair of the negotiations team about what happened in bargaining, and how important this strike is for public education, indeed, for the public. UTLA is demanding a fair agreement that addresses class size, funding for nurses, counselors, and librarians, a halt to further privatization through charterization, and teacher pay. The LAUSD’s Austin Beutner failed to show up for the last two bargaining sessions, lied to the media, and presented an inadequate proposal, so now he has to face teachers, students, and community on the picket lines. After the spectacular Red State teachers' strikes of last year, the LAUSD strike has enormous potential in practical and inspirational terms — for labor and community as a whole.