The labor struggles of teachers in Iran have expanded simultaneously with the establishment of a modern educational system in the country. The first union action of teachers took place almost a century ago, in 1922, over demands such as wage raises, receiving back pay, improving the quality and quantity of educational spaces and providing free and high-quality education to disadvantaged students. Another notable episode of teacher activism occurred in 1961, when one teacher was killed during a union strike that led to the collapse of the government. Ultimately, the leader of the teachers ended up becoming the minister of education, followed by the doubling of teacher pay and the improvement of educational circumstances — at least for a short period.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a large number of teachers found their way into the newly established government and occupied various positions. But as a consequence of eight years of war with Iraq (1980-88) and power struggles within the government, no prospects for pursuing union demands were foreseeable. By the end of the war and with the reconstruction efforts under President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, economic reforms led to a high point for capitalist arrangements, coinciding with the deterioration of circumstances for middle-class communities — including teachers. A new wave of teacher protests started in 2001 and have recurred continuously.

The most recent wave of protests took place Oct. 5 — World Teachers’ Day — in the form of demonstrations in front of the local offices of the Education Ministry across Iran, as well as Oct. 14-15 and Nov. 13-14 in the form of sit-ins. These protests, although mostly related to professional demands, have been misinterpreted by two groups.

On the one hand, some opponents of the Islamic Republic view the protests as opposition to the Iranian state and assume them to be highly political. They attempt to further stimulate the protests through social media and take advantage of the situation to attack the government. As the Trump administration's renewed sanctions turn up the pressure on the Islamic Republic, opponents of the Iranian state — in harmony with President Donald Trump’s rhetoric — claim that the protests as well as action by unions and other associations are manifestations of the impact of sanctions and thus further encourage the US government to put more pressure on Iran. But Trump and this section of the Iranian opposition do not fully understand the nature of these protests. They are not familiar with the nature of the teachers’ demands and the diverse tools the educators employ to pursue their aspirations, such as direct and continuous meetings with high-ranking state officials, Education Ministry officials and members of parliament, as well as the issuance of statements regarding different professional problems and so on. Undoubtedly, when someone has goals similar to those of Trump and these opposition groups, meeting and negotiating with the highest rank of state officials would not be not viewed as meaningful in any sense. This perspective also ignores that the renewed US sanctions have put additional pressures on teachers’ daily lives and have diminished their purchasing power.