Chicago teachers strike after negotiations fail

[KurtFF8]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...-live-coverage

This is an interesting bit:

The Chicago teachers strike is eating into the time Mayor Emanuel has to devote to the reelection of his former boss, President Obama.
In a late-stage move designed to give the president a much-needed fundraising boost, Emanuel announced last week that he would begin raising money for the president's Super PAC, Priorities USA Action.
Now Emanuel has cancelled a planned appearance at a fundraiser today and is suspending presidential campaign activity until the Chicago strike is resolved, Politico's Kenneth Vogel reports.

I'm surprised there isn't a thread about this already

[ed miliband]

why is that bit in particular interesting?

[Lenina Rosenweg]

The Chicago teacher's strike is a very important development.Its the third largest school district in the US. There hasn't been a teacher's strike in that city in the past 25 years. Rahm Immanuel, the mayor of Chicago,(and a former officer in the IDF) is a close personal friend of Obama and was his first chief of staff. He has been a key player in the "school reform" movement, that is he has been instrumental in the corporate push to destroy public education in the US by way of union busting private charter schools, merit pay, standardized testing, and school closures. This move began during the Reagan administration, accelerated under Bush II with his "No Child Left Behind" program and is rapidly accelerating under Obama.

The strike is significant because it shows a working class fightback after the disaster (led by the Democratic Party) in Wisconsin, and because its politically very embarrassing to Obama. Its essentially an attack on Obama from the left, something desperately needed at this time, and represents a loss of control of the Democratic Party and liberals over workers.

The thuggish Emmanuel is a major "player" in Obama's reelection effort and this shows he can't control his own turf.

A good Counterpunch article on this

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09/...-strike-is-on/

[Lenina Rosenweg]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/10-1

For the first time in a quarter century, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)—which represents educators, school clinicians, and support staff in the nation's third-largest school district—is on strike today after weekend negotiations with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) ended on Sunday without agreement on contract disputes that have been ongoing since June.

Karen Lewis, president of the CTU, speaking at a press conference late Sunday night, said: "We are committed to staying at the table until a contract is place. However, in the morning no CTU member will be inside our schools. We will walk the picket lines. We will talk to parents. We will talk to clergy. We will talk to the community. We will talk to anyone who will listen—we demand a fair contract today, we demand a fair contract now. And, until there is one in place that our members accept, we will be on the [picket] line."

More than 29,000 employees are participating in the strike which impacts over 350,000 students citywide.

[~Spectre]

Corey Robin FTW: http://coreyrobin.com/2012/09/10/ter...u-make-a-year/

[theblackmask]

The Vice-President of the CTU is in the ISO.

[Le Socialiste]

The Vice-President of the CTU is in the ISO.

We have a number of members within the CTU, what's your point?

[Prometeo liberado]

The Vice-President of the CTU is in the ISO.

There is also a contingent of L.A. retired school teachers that have been going there since April on a consulting basis helping the union. All Solidarity members. Negotiations were never serious. They new they would strike as far back as March. Now lets see if the various tendencies within the union can put aside their ideological differences and stay focused. Very important happenings in Chi-Town.

[citizen of industry]

What! Those greedy unionists are depriving our kids of education because they want more money!? They should get paid less!




Just kidding.

[Delenda Carthago]

I find their struggle very charming. Keep up!

[brigadista]

good luck and solidarity to the Chicago Teachers Union

[ВАЛТЕР]

A picture from the protest.

Perhaps people are catching onto the empty promises the liberals throw at them.

[thriller]

The strike is significant because it shows a working class fightback after the disaster (led by the Democratic Party) in Wisconsin, and because its politically very embarrassing to Obama. Its essentially an attack on Obama from the left, something desperately needed at this time, and represents a loss of control of the Democratic Party and liberals over workers.

The thuggish Emmanuel is a major "player" in Obama's reelection effort and this shows he can't control his own turf.

This for sure. Who knows what would've happened if people actually struck (or is it striked?) in Wisconsin. Lenina is totally correct. It shows some working class solidarity and action in the mid-west after a horrible blow to teachers from the whole recall process in Wisconsin.

[Jimmie Higgins]

The strike is significant because it shows a working class fightback after the disaster (led by the Democratic Party) in Wisconsin, and because its politically very embarrassing to Obama. Its essentially an attack on Obama from the left, something desperately needed at this time, and represents a loss of control of the Democratic Party and liberals over workers.

Yes, this is not only an important strike in the sense of the scale but that it is a group of workers who have been specifically targeted and demonized as part of the US austerity project (and a longer neoliberal project to alter public education).

Not only that but the other dynamics involved are really explosive:

- a major strike after years of declining large strikes
- teacher and parent solidarity is high and somewhat organized from what I understand (despite the steady flow of "think of the children!" coming from the ruling class through politicians and the media).
- a strike is happening within months of the election... when US elections usually dampen any struggle - particularly ones where the people involved tend to support the Dems and liberal leaderships of LGBT groups or NAACP or unions don't want to "embarrass the nominee by making too many demands".
- not only that but the direct connection to Obama through his home town, through his crony Mayor buddy, and through his whole stated agenda for public education reform. ... and that it's on the front pages of the papers only days after Obama's inevitable nomination.

It's possible that there will be national ramifications from this, so I'd encourage any US folks here to try and help through talking to co-workers or seeing if there can be some solidarity thing organized on your campus etc.

[Paulappaul]

Considering Obama needs the union vote, that this is his town and his political allegiances with Emmanuel I can't wait to hear his position. He is in hot water, and contrary to what Rush Limbaugh says, I think this could be a potential set back for the Democratic ticket.

No coincidence this weaves in with the international situation abroad (UK Teachers threatening strike, South African Strike, etc.) I only hope it can solidify into another hot winter

[KurtFF8]

Some Chicago Public Schools custodians may strike

By John Byrne Clout Street

3:04 p.m. CDT, September 11, 2012

A union representing some Chicago Public Schools custodians has given notice that its workers may soon stop crossing picket lines in solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union, whose members are on strike.

Service Employees International Union Local 1 today informed companies that employ about 1,800 of its members as custodial workers in city schools that those workers might go out on strike with teachers in 48 hours, according to Jerry Morrison, assistant to the president of SEIU Local 1.

There currently is no plan for the custodians to strike as a whole, but Morrison said several Local 1 members have indicated they want to be able to make the individual decision to honor the teachers' picket lines. "This notice allows them to do that without violating their contract," Morrison said.

"This move came after a town hall meeting with several hundred members, where many said they wanted to be able to act in solidarity with teachers," Morrison said.

School district officials said they had not yet been informed of the custodians' strike notice.
[email protected]

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

[theblackmask]

Some Chicago Public Schools custodians may strike

If there's no kids in school, who's gonna make a mess?

[KurtFF8]

An article from the CSMonitor:


Chicago teachers strike: Illegal under Illinois law?

Illinois state law could bar teachers from striking on anything except pay and benefits, but the Chicago teachers strike is also about class size, job security, and teacher evaluations. Mayor Rahm Emanuel can take the union to court – but at a risk.

With the Chicago teacher’s strike entering its third day, both sides appear determined to settle matters behind closed doors and not in a courtroom, even though the city has authority to take the fight there – though at significant political risk, legal experts say.
Although untested in the courts, a provision added to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act last year could prohibit teachers from striking on all matters except compensation involving pay and benefits. The walkout, which started Monday, appears to be about a broad range of issues, many of which have little to do with wages.
Chicago Teachers Union representatives have acknowledged that their gripes with the city are not necessarily financial. "What I would say about the economics of this thing is that that isn’t the main issue,” Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey told reporters late Sunday.
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Indeed, Chicago teachers are paid more than any others in the state, according to a 2012 report by Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The average public teacher salary in Chicago is $74,236, compared with a state average of $64,978. As of Sunday, the Chicago Public Schools district offered teachers a 16 percent raise over four years. On Sunday, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said the offer was “not far apart” from what the union was seeking.
So if the strike is not strictly about compensation, it may be an illegal action according to state law, which even the union recognizes. “While new Illinois law prohibits us from striking over the recall of laid-off teachers and compensation for a longer school year, we do not intend to sign an agreement until these matters are addressed,” the union said in a statement released Sunday.
Representatives from the Chicago Teachers Union would not return requests for comment Wednesday.
Another tool that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, has at his ready is a provision in state law that says if a teacher strike “is or has become a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the public,” the mayor can seek a court injunction to stop it. However, this option seems unlikely, because the provision does not cover public welfare, which would be more germane for the strike, says Martin Malin, director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace at the Illinois Institute of Chicago.
So far, the city is not pursuing the possible illegality of the strike, but instead is taking its case to the public, describing the union as conducting a “strike of choice.” Sarah Hamilton, communications director for Mayor Emanuel, says his administration’s “focus is getting kids back in the classroom learning from their teachers, and we believe this is best resolved at the negotiating table, not in front of a judge.”
On Tuesday, Emanuel said the two primary issues in the negotiations – teacher evaluations and teacher rehiring – are legally “non-strikeable.”
Emanuel’s comments “may be setting things up, particularly if the strike is lengthy, for him to appeal to the Legislature to further restrict [the union’s] right to strike, perhaps by requiring additional third-party intervention or restricting the subject over which a union may strike,” says Mr. Malin.
It is not uncommon for public-sector workers who defy state rules on strike actions to face the risk of prison time or large fines. More than 200 teachers in Middletown, N.J., were jailed in December 2001 for defying a judge’s back-to-work order after breaking state law. More recently, a transit-workers strike in New York City in December 2005 resulted in a $2.5 million fine for the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and a 10-day jail sentence for its president.
If the teacher strike in Chicago hits the two-week mark, it is likely Emanuel will turn to the courts for a resolution, says Randolph McLaughlin, a labor attorney and professor at Pace University Law School in White Plains, N.Y.
“This can become very serious. The city, to its credit, isn’t pulling that trigger yet. They realize that once you start jailing teachers, battle lines are drawn and there will be no compromise,” Mr. McLaughlin says. However, the longer the strike endures and tests the patience of parents, Emanuel will likely feel emboldened to seek guidance from the courts.
“If this continues for two weeks, the city will ratchet it up to the next level, because pressure from parents will become so severe. That’s the critical issue,” he says.
Unlike strikes in the private sector, public-sector strikes have an added political dimension, which is why both sides are presenting dueling narratives to explain to the public what is at stake.
For Emanuel, the two central issues are teacher evaluations that include measures of student achievement and the authority of principals to hire the teachers they want. The unions are presenting a more complex set of issues: increasing class size, deteriorating school buildings, and job security. They worry that factors like neighborhood violence and family discord will drive down student performance, unfairly penalize teachers, and result in some 6,000 teacher layoffs. They also say teachers who lose their jobs as a result of school closings should be priority hires when open positions are available.
The jockeying for public support, particularly from parents, is common in public-sector labor battles, says William Powell Jones, an associate professor of history specializing in labor issues at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
“They’re emphasizing things that are more important to each other but are also issues that are seen in the public as sympathetic. The reality is all of these issues are at stake here and it’s complicated by the fact that Rahm Emanuel is a national figure,” Mr. Jones says.
Moreover, it's difficult for the public to grasp what's at issue in the standoff, because the talks are sequestered behind closed doors.
“The problem is that, since this matter is in the midst of a collective bargaining process, both sides spin the story to their advantage. Without access to the actual proposals and responses it is difficult to say what the real issues are,” says McLaughlin, the labor attorney.
What is known is that the strike is being seen in a much broader context about the purpose of public unions and the effectiveness of the reforms levied against them in recent years by legislative majority leaders, particularly Republicans, in neighboring states like Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio.
“It’s about the legitimacy of public-sector unions,” says Jones. “These are issues that go far beyond Chicago, and that’s why people are paying attention this strike.”

[The_Red_Spark]

This has national implications and is a very important fight for all teachers unions in the USA. The sad thing is that most of the people I know think that it is only about pay and they cite the salary increase that was offered. They are also oblivious to the issues outside of pay and are unaware that they will not get the 4% raise they were supposed to get this year as part of the proposed deal. Instead the average Joe allows envy of the teachers pay rate to become the sole focal point of the issue just like the media wants it to be viewed.

We should be supporting this strike both online and when and where possible in person. The more people who stand with them the more likely it will be a victory for the worker and a huge victory for unions in general. If this strike is broken and the union loses this battle it will have a ripple effect throughout the nation and many other unions will take the hit as a result.

[Prometeo liberado]

This just in from a comrade in the Los Angeles Teachers Union:

Today, under pressure from Area chairs (the second level of UTLA leaders under the UTLA officers), the officers decided to call a rally at UTLA headquarters (3303 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90010) in support of Chicago teachers at 4 pm this Friday. Teachers will also be leafleting parents that day in support of the strike. The officers also agreed to send $5000 to the CTU and had CTU President Karen Lewis address the UTLA House of Representatives tonight. She was received very enthusiastically. Betty Forrester, UTLA/AFT VP also reported that the LA County Federation of Labor would also be contributing $5000 to CTU.