United Teachers of New Orleans
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| Full name | UTNO |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1937 |
| Members | 1,000+ |
| Head union | American Federation of Teachers, Louisiana Federation of Teachers |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO |
| Key people | Larry J. Carter Jr., President |
| Office location | 4714 Paris Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www.utno.org |
The United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) is a labor union representing teachers and other educational workers in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is an affiliate of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the AFL-CIO.
UTNO was the first integrated teachers' union in Louisiana, and the first to win a collective bargaining agreement in the state without the protection of a state employees collective bargaining law. Once the largest union in Louisiana, a state takeover of the city public schools in the wake of Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the union. UTNO has been reorganizing with help from its parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, and the AFL-CIO. As of August 2007, the union had regained more than 1,000 members and in October 2007 began negotiating its first post-storm contract with the Orleans Parish school board (OPSB).
UTNO was founded in 1937, but for a quarter of a century it struggled. Unions in the city were segregated, and the organization's black membership (affiliated with the AFT) was unable to accomplish much. In 1948, union president Veronica B. Hill was elected an AFT vice president. In 1954, after the AFT amended its constitution to require integrated locals, the affiliate integrated—although most white teachers in New Orleans still belonged to the NEA.
The formation of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City in 1961 electrified teachers in the U.S., and collective bargaining gained momentum across the nation and in Louisiana. The AFT formed a state federation, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, to help counter the strength of the Louisiana Education Association (which opposed collective bargaining and strikes). Both the NEA and AFT teachers' unions in New Orleans, however, pushed the OPSB for the right to bargain collectively. In 1966, the AFT affiliate struck for three days in an attempt to win a contract. But only 10 percent of the city's 5,000 teachers walked off the job.
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