Prior to 1984 teaching was a valued commodity in New Zealand. Teachers were, in general, strongly supported by successive governments and by the Department of Education, which was largely staffed by ex-teachers and consulted closely with the profession on most matters. However, since the new right revolution, brought in by the third Labour government, teachers have been seen in a different light. Not just teachers, in fact, but the whole public service. Under the new right model, agencies and public servants were viewed as self-interested "free riders" whose only goal was to get more and more resources for their own area. This led, it was argued, to bloating of the government sector, inefficiency and "provider capture" of resources. Teachers and the education system were identified early on as the worst example of a feather-bedded system. Teachers fought for their pay and conditions and high levels of unionisation. This article presents a plan for teachers to act to maintain democracy in hard times, the BLESS approach, a 5 point approach that teachers can use in their daily lives.