Are you an education worker in Richmond, Virginia?

Are you tired of testing? Burned out by bureaucracy? Enraged at injustice? Dreaming of democracy?

You are not alone, and we have power in numbers!

Join the Richmond Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators (RVACORE) to struggle to defend and transform our public education system. As education workers, we believe this struggle begins where we spend most of our days: in our workplaces. From the school bus to the classroom to the cafeteria, our labor plays a crucial role in making this city run.

Therefore, we cultivate the strength of our union, the Richmond Education Association (REA), in the service of social progress. We work to build labor-community alliances to fight back against injustice, and ultimately win a democratic education system in a free and equal society.

Where We Stand

We believe that public schools should serve the people. This is why we fight for a secular, scientific, and democratic education system.

We believe that labor unions should struggle for the liberation of the working class and all oppressed people. This is why we promote class struggle and solidarity within our union, the Richmond Education Association (REA).

We believe that through study and struggle, working people can change the world. And we want education workers in Richmond and beyond to be a part of that movement for change.

A rank-and-file caucus is a collective of union members who advocate for the interests of workers on the shop floor. Throughout history, rank-and-file caucuses have been the voice of the grassroots, pushing the labor movement to adopt a more progressive orientation.

Unfortunately, once unions “win a seat at the table,” they tend to become increasingly bureaucratic and complacent, separating themselves from the day-to-day realities faced by most workers and adapting themselves to the status quo.

That’s where rank-and-file caucuses like RVACORE come in.

In a time of rising fascism and imperialist war, and in a world plagued by exploitation and oppression, educators need to get organized, raise our voice, and use our collective power to fight back. We need to build our unions as fighting organizations of the working class.

Within our union and in our school communities, members of RVACORE advocate for:

  • Public Schools for the People
  • Education for Liberation
  • Class Struggle Unionism
  • Direct Democracy
  • International Solidarity
  • Anti-Racism and Decolonization
  • LGBTQ+ Liberation
  • Environmentalism

Members of RVACORE:

  • Study together to develop our knowledge and skills as educators and union organizers.
  • Conduct research and develop programs of action to promote in our union.
  • Organize in our worksites and school communities to build the power of the people.
  • Train and elect rank-and-file members for union leadership.
  • Publish a newsletter, The Richmond Educator.