The Boston Teachers Union (BTU), Local 66 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), represents over 10,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, and retirees in Boston. The union celebrated its 75th Anniversary in Fall 2020. Inspired by the occasion, BTU Secretary-Treasurer Betsy Drinan developed the idea of an in-depth oral history project with BTU leaders, organizers, and members, exploring the lives and labor of educators, the process of union organizing, and how BTU members experienced the evolution of schooling and organizing in Boston over the past seventy-five years. Drinan partnered with Nick Juravich of UMass Boston to launch the BTU Oral History Project in January 2020, with the goal of providing a unique record of teaching and organizing in Boston for future BTU members, as well as for UMass Boston students, scholars, educators, and journalists studying these topics.
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