High School Union: Breaking with Tradition to Unite the High School Movement

They want the moment “historical”. “In thirty-six years of existence, a unified union had never existed,” welcomed, Friday, November 3, Gwenn Thomas-Alves, resigning president of the Independent and Democratic High School Federation (Fidl). The main high school union leaders announced, during a press conference, the creation of the High School Union (USL), which absorbs 85 union federations from the Fidl, the High School Voice (VL), the National High School Movement ( MNL) and local organizations.

“Together we are stronger. Three high school unions are far too many, the high school struggle cannot afford to be divided. assures Zine-Eddine Messaoudi, former vice-president of the Voix lycéenne and now a member of the provisional national office of the USL – an office will be elected during a congress organized at the beginning of December in Rennes.

More horizontal organization

Anti-fascist, anti-capitalist, feminist, this new union aims to break with its predecessors. “We want to change our method. The historical method of high school unionism has made it possible to wage great battles and obtain great victories, underlines Némo Hoanen, activist within the High School Pirate Union, also absorbed into the USL, referring to the mobilization against the Devaquet law or the first employment contract. But it has flaws.”

And to cite an organization that is too vertical, a “careerism” union leaders and an overrepresentation of white men with high cultural capital. The USL demands a more horizontal organization and more transparency. “This strategy that we had adopted for thirty-six years had limits. We have not succeeded in uniting the high school movement,” abounds Gwenn Thomas-Alves.

Independence from political parties

The subjects of mobilization will be numerous for the USL, which intends to step up to the plate against Parcoursup, the Universal National Service (SNU), the uniform, the reform of the vocational high school, or even the rise of the extreme right in high schools, while fighting for the energy renovation of educational establishments. How do they plan to make their voice heard? “By the street, defends Zine-Eddine Messaoudi. This is how we can become a major union organization.” The 85 local federations will maintain room for maneuver in their actions, in order to adapt to territorial needs and issues. “In Val-de-Marne, there are problems of police misconduct and insecurity, in Yvelines, transport problems,” thus illustrated Bianca Bindea, also a member of the provisional national office.

The USL also wishes to assert its independence from political parties, accusations of collusion between certain left-wing parties and certain high school unions being usual. “We collaborate with all progressive political parties, but they must in no case tell us what to do,” says Ephram Beloeil, until then president of the Voix lycéenne.

Finally, the new union intends to create a high school international, by bringing together “all deeply anti-capitalist high school students who want to obtain rights for their classmates”, says Gwenn Thomas-Alves. The French organization is already in discussions with a Hungarian union opposed to Viktor Orbán’s policies.