ZaidJilani posted:

During a press conference tonight the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced that it will be going on strike, its first action of the sort in 25 years.

Why are these 29,000 teachers and school workers going on strike in the nation’s third-largest public school district?

Because they want what all workers want: fair pay and decent working conditions. They also want what all teachers want — to serve their students to their best of their abilities.

Here’s a few things you need to know about the strike, and why the CTU is right and Mayor Rahm Emanuel — who has failed to fairly bargain with the union — is wrong:

Powerful Outside Interests Worked With Rahm To Cripple CTU’s Ability To Strike (They Failed): Last year, outside groups education privatization groups like Stand for Children worked with the city council and mayor to raise the strike threshold limit to 75 percent — meaning that 3/4 of teachers had to vote to strike. Jonah Edelman, who works for the group, bragged during the Aspen Ideas Festival that they had essentially eliminated teachers’ ability to strike. But in June, nearly 90 percent of CTU members voted to authorize a strike, easily surpassing the barrier that the city and education privatization groups had placed on them. But outside groups haven’t stopped taking aim at union rights. They’ve even paid protesters to demonstrate against CTU.

Rahm Refuses To Pay Teachers What They Were Promised: Being a teacher takes hard work, and it’s one of the most most poorly-paid professions relative to the work load. The leadership of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) had agreed to offer teachers a four percent raise last year, but Mayor Emanuel canceled this agreement. The district has refused to address this raise in negotiations. While gutting teachers’ pay increases, CPS is calling for longer school days. Would you want to work more hours without being fairly compensated for it?

The City Won’t Agree To Limit The Number Of Kids In Classrooms In The Contract: Over-crowded classrooms are bad for students, teachers, and parents. That’s why 32 states have limits on classroom size. Illinois does not. CTU wants to see limits on class sizes in its contract (there are limits in CPS guidelines, but not in the teachers’ contract) but the city refuses to discuss it. CTU analysis shows that Chicago class sizes for kindergarten and first grade are larger than 95 percent of school districts in the state.

Rahm Is Intent On Shifting Funds To Untested And Unproven Charter Schools: Rahm has been laying the groundwork for a rapid expansion of charter schools, and wants to create nearly 250 more within five to ten years (this would amount to half the system). This massive diversion of funds from the public system is not based on the facts of what actually works for students. The most comprehensive study of charter schools in the United States found that most deliver results similar to those of public schools. Not surprisingly, Chicago’s charter schools are largely devoid of unions and the benefits they provide for students and teachers alike. Charter school teachers tend to earn 8 percent less than normal public school teachers — which makes them an attractive tool for austerity-prone conservatives. CTU wants a more fair distribution of funds.

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/13776/chicago_teachers_find_rahms_prominent_dnc_speaking_slot_ironic/

MikeElk posted:

Prominent Tea Party activist Andrew Marcus has bragged about working with Emanuel to take on the unions in Chicago. A Marcus-directed film, A Tale of Two Missions, features interviews with Mayor Emanuel. The CTU recently released a 24-minute video, “Chicago Teachers Union vs. Astroturf Billionaires,” that outlines the various Tea Party and Koch-funded groups that Emanuel has worked with in his battle with the CTU.

“It seemed strange that Emanuel, a longtime member and leader of the Democratic Party establishment, would work with ultra-right wing Tea Party members to execute political goals,” says CTU staffer Kenzo Shibata.

“It seemed strange that Emanuel, a longtime member and leader of the Democratic Party establishment, would work with ultra-right wing Tea Party members to execute political goals,” says CTU staffer Kenzo Shibata.

lol

ilmdge posted:

aerdil posted:

So I just met the PSL candidate for president of the united states of america, Peta Lindsay. She was standing by herself handing out pamphlets in the middle of campus.

is that what passes for grassroots these days? is she too proud to do an IAMA on reddit on something?

Yeah the funny thing is that their site said they were doing a table on campus w/ the PSL presidential candidate, so I was expecting somewhat more of an ordeal than some lady passing out flyers amongst the frat and sorority recruiting. oh well, it's ~the left~ and the best we have atm i guess. Long story short, I'm voting for Romney.