"Thousands of teachers gathered at the Sao Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) on Friday, voting overwhelmingly in favour of a strike aiming to force the government to address stagnant salaries and the 'devaluing' of their profession under recent reform policies. Footage shows teachers marching as they carried signs with messages such as, 'Who cares about teachers?', 'Fair and transparent assignment of in-person classes' and 'Strike now'. The mobilisation follows a challenging start to the year for the education sector, marked by layoffs, difficulties in assigning classes to teachers, and the 'militarisation' of teaching standards. During the protest, Maria Izabel Azevedo Noronha, president of the Sao Paulo State Official Education Teachers Union (APEOESP), argued that teachers are demanding what they were promised by the government. "We cannot think that the moment that is about to come will be easy, it will not be! There we have, with all the differences that sectors may have, the federal government of President Lula, but it was the government that faced everything it faced with Trump, guaranteed us the income tax exemption, and we may have the fourteenth salary," she said. The protesters spoke out against Bill 1316/2025, promoted by Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, which establishes an administrative reform in education that protesters argue cuts rights and eliminates job security. "What scares us the most is PL (bill) 1316 that is in process in the legislative assembly, and that comes as a mercy shot to our category, it comes to demoralise us, to devalue us, it also takes away our autonomy as educators, it is an extremely inhuman bill," said protester Elaine. According to APEOESP, teachers will launch their approved strike action on March 9 and 10, the first day of the school year, with street demonstrations and assemblies."