In progressive cities like Oakland, pushing back publicly against the teacher's union does not happen, even when many disagree with the union's tactics. In May 2023, The Oakland REACH launched a bold communications campaign calling out the teacher strikes and their harm and disruption to student learning. Their month-long campaign kicked off with a community petition condemning the strikes that garnered several hundred signatures both locally and nationally. Once the strike started, REACH’s CEO and team of Parent Liberators interviewed with every local news outlet and pushed out daily “anti-strike” communications. Their earned media “reached” nearly 30 million people, and social media presence made over 250,000 impressions. REACH was unable to prevent the 8-day strike, but they were successful in changing the narrative against teacher strikes, making it very unpopular with many parents, who became more outspoken. They were able to influence the quality of the district's communications to the public, and convinced their local NAACP chapter to issue a statement condemning the strikes. Their communications strategy can be leveraged in future strike threats. A policy was not at risk, but student learning was. REACH built a responsive defense that has laid the groundwork for legislative action and advocacy.