UTD celebrates the cross-racial unity of the Delano grape strike, which started on Sept. 8, 1965, 55 years before today's show. One of the little-known facts about United Teachers of Dade is that we were the first union in the South to desegregate.  Before 1974, there was a black teachers union and a white teachers union in Miami.  United Teachers of Dade arose from the merger of both into one union that advocates for quality public education and is deeply rooted in racial justice issues.  46 years later, in 2020 we are still fighting for the same. 

During this episode First Vice President White and Secretary/Treasurer Grimes-Festge are joined by UTD Organizer Shawnie Tumbling, who started teaching in 1998. She has been a media specialist and math coach. Tumbling describes the challenges teachers are facing with the K12 platform and why the district should have conferred with instructional staff prior to trying the system.