Morning Chicago Teachers Strike News and Commentary 9-12-12
Chicago teacher: They didn’t think that we were serious
The Chicago Teachers’ Strike: Two Visions
This is my analysis of the strike, posted on the website of the New York Review of Books.
Debating the Teachers Strike
Debating the Teachers Strike
I was on an NPR show called “To the Point” today, where a panel debated the teachers’ strike. The discussion of the strike begins 24 minutes into the show.
Other panelists included Juan Jose Gonzalez, the Chicago director of Stand for Children, who opposed the union; Timothy Knowles of the University of Chicago, who advised Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Rick Perlstein, author; and me.
It was a spirited discussion, to say the least.
Other panelists included Juan Jose Gonzalez, the Chicago director of Stand for Children, who opposed the union; Timothy Knowles of the University of Chicago, who advised Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Rick Perlstein, author; and me.
It was a spirited discussion, to say the least.
Niles West sends a little love to the CTU.
Tim Furman asks forgiveness for the framing of his video work. But what is missing in the frame is made up by the message: These north suburban teachers in Niles West Local 1274 have the Local #1′s back.
Rebel Diaz. Chicago Teacher.
[CHORUS]
Homey I was taught by a Chicago teacher!
Chicago teacher, Chicago teacher!
I learned to read and write from a Chicago teacher,
So I’m inspired by the fight from our Chicago teachers!
[RODSTARZ VERSE]
The teachers are tired, the students dumbfounded,
the budgets get cut so classes are overcrowded.
Homey I was taught by a Chicago teacher!
Chicago teacher, Chicago teacher!
I learned to read and write from a Chicago teacher,
So I’m inspired by the fight from our Chicago teachers!
[RODSTARZ VERSE]
The teachers are tired, the students dumbfounded,
the budgets get cut so classes are overcrowded.
The Goal of Chicago Teachers Union Is Better Schools, Not Better Pay
AFT President, Randi Weingarten (Wikipedia)The issues that teachers are fighting for go to the heart of improving Chicago’s public schools. Chicago has had 15 years of mayoral control, and it hasn’t helped improve our schools. Today,
Rahm Emanuel Walking A High Wire With Teachers
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is negotiating with striking teachers, who are a key part of his — and the president's — constituency. Meanwhile, he's tasked with raising money for Priorities USA Action, the superPAC supporting President Obama. It seems that this election season, Emanuel has his hands full and his feet on a high wire.
Head Of Chicago Teachers Union Rose The Ranks
Head Of Chicago Teachers Union Rose The Ranks
At the center of the Chicago teachers' strike are Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the head of the teachers' union, Karen Lewis. To learn more about Lewis and the relationship between the teachers' union and the mayor's office, Audie Cornish talks to Joel Hood, education reporter at the Chicago Tribune.
The in box. The $74,000 lie.
Far-right activists as well as even a few mainstream journalists have made wild claims about how much Chicago’s teachers earn. Nightline’s Terry Moran even claimed that the Chicago Teachers Union is doing “much damage” to the profession by striking, and then went on to say that teachers in the city earn an average of $74,000.
That just isn’t true. To fact check this claim, I went to the best source available to the public: the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS has data from May 2011 for the Chicago metropolitan
What Does Equal Educational Opportunity Mean in Chicago?
An article that appeared in “In These Times” describes the school where Mayor Rahm Emanuel sends his children. It is the University of Chicago Lab School. President Obama chose it for his girls when he lived in Chicago. Arne Duncan is a graduate.
It is a wonderful progressive school, originally founded by John Dewey. It has small classes, a broad and rich curriculum, wonderful facilities, a beautiful library, seven full-time arts teachers for a student body of 1,700 students, and a lovely campus.
This is from the article:
Chicago Teacher Strike Not About Money
Teachers in Chicago are on strike. You will hear from the usual anti-government, anti-union crowd that this is another instance of greedy public employees trying to get more money, but that is just wrong and here's why.
The teachers say they are fighting for smaller class sizes, investments in neighborhood schools and additionalservices for students -- fighting for the tools they need to succeed. For so long school districts have been cutting budgets and then blaming the teachers when the students don't do as well.
Chicago teachers have been in negotiations since late 2011, fighting for many important things including art and music classes, playgrounds, libraries (160 schools in Chicago have no libraries and the city has cut back on
The teachers say they are fighting for smaller class sizes, investments in neighborhood schools and additionalservices for students -- fighting for the tools they need to succeed. For so long school districts have been cutting budgets and then blaming the teachers when the students don't do as well.
Chicago teachers have been in negotiations since late 2011, fighting for many important things including art and music classes, playgrounds, libraries (160 schools in Chicago have no libraries and the city has cut back on
The west side is the best side.
Following the morning picket lines, the CTU dispersed the afternoon rallies to Chicago’s neighborhoods today.
One at Dyett High School on the south side at 51st and King.
One on the south west side at Kelly High School, Archer and California.
And one on the west side on Marshall High School, Kedzie and Jackson. That’s where I went.
Thousands marched just a few blocks from where the Reverend Martin Luther King lived during his Chicago open housing campaign in 1966.
One at Dyett High School on the south side at 51st and King.
One on the south west side at Kelly High School, Archer and California.
And one on the west side on Marshall High School, Kedzie and Jackson. That’s where I went.
Thousands marched just a few blocks from where the Reverend Martin Luther King lived during his Chicago open housing campaign in 1966.
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On the morning of September 10, 2012, the first day of the Chicago teacher's strike, Action Now President Michelle Young spoke at a press conference held by the Grassroots Collaborative outside of CPS Headquarters to voice community support for striking Chicago public school teachers. Later in the day, Action Now members joined ten of thousands of others in a massive rally to support Chicago teachers that were striking for a fair contract and better schools!
The truth is, CPS's policies disrupt the education process more than anything else! On Mayor Emanuel's watch CPS has starved schools for resources, leaving 160 without libraries, and many schools with large class sizes, no air-conditioning and no wrap-around services. How can our children learn under those conditions?! What kind of world-class city allows this to happen?! The Board says it 
can't afford to give teachers a raise or to give our schools the resources they need. That is a bold faced lie, because they seemed to be able to find $25 million to spend on a "strike contingency plan" and $70 million on charter schools. It is clear to me that MY child is not high on their priority list.
The Diane Rehm Show: Me Vs. Three
Diane Rehm is one of the best interviewers on national radio (WAMU in DC).
I always enjoy being on her show.
This morning, I was invited to discuss the Chicago teacher strike, and discovered to my chagrin, that the lineup was three against one.
I defended the teachers and discussed their aims and the conditions in the Chicago public schools.
On the other side was Rick Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute; Andrew Rotherham of Bellwether Partners; and former Mayor Adrian Fenty of D.C.
The three of them versus me. Mayor Fenty would like to see tenure abolished. He blames the unions for all the
I always enjoy being on her show.
This morning, I was invited to discuss the Chicago teacher strike, and discovered to my chagrin, that the lineup was three against one.
I defended the teachers and discussed their aims and the conditions in the Chicago public schools.
On the other side was Rick Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute; Andrew Rotherham of Bellwether Partners; and former Mayor Adrian Fenty of D.C.
The three of them versus me. Mayor Fenty would like to see tenure abolished. He blames the unions for all the
Randi Weingarten: Treat teachers as equal partners
I've spent a lot of time talking to Chicago's teachers. What they want more than anything are the tools and conditions to do their jobs and help all students succeed.
By Scott Olson, Getty Images
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, addresses a rally in Chicago on Tuesday.
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OUR VIEW: Chicago teachers flunk sympathy test
Mayor Rahm Emanuel came into office wanting to make major changes in Chicago's schools, and he wanted to do it quickly. For reform to work, changes must be done collaboratively and correctly, not just quickly. Chicago's teachers want to be treated as equal partners in this effort.
The issues that teachers are fighting for go to the heart of improving Chicago's public schools. Chicago has had 15 years of mayoral control, and it hasn't helped improve our schools. Today, 42% of neighborhood elementary schools are not funded for a full-time art or music
Chicago Reminds Us Why we have Unions
Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody
The strike by Chicago teachers is reminding all of us of the reason we have unions, and the reason why they are so feared and hated by those who are in command. The ability of these 29,000 teachers to act as one, to withhold their labor, gives them a power far mightier than the sum of their parts. So long as they stay unified, and have the support of parents in their community and others across the nation, they will prevail.
Unions don't just exist to handle grievances and negotiate contracts. Unions are here to give members leverage. The strength of that leverage depends on our capacity and willingness to strike. Over the past two decades, as
Ten minute drawing. Accountability, Rahm style.
Click on drawing to enlarge.
The Pay of Chicago School Teachers and Selected Others
Chicago Teachers’ Strike Enters Third Day
What the Chicago Teacher Strike Reveals about Obama and “Progressivist” Media
The strike by Chicago teachers is reminding all of us of the reason we have unions, and the reason why they are so feared and hated by those who are in command. The ability of these 29,000 teachers to act as one, to withhold their labor, gives them a power far mightier than the sum of their parts. So long as they stay unified, and have the support of parents in their community and others across the nation, they will prevail.
Unions don't just exist to handle grievances and negotiate contracts. Unions are here to give members leverage. The strength of that leverage depends on our capacity and willingness to strike. Over the past two decades, as
Ten minute drawing. Accountability, Rahm style.
Click on drawing to enlarge.
The Pay of Chicago School Teachers and Selected Others
Since the Chicago school teachers went out on strike Monday, many political figures have tried to convince the public that their $70,000 average annual pay is excessive. This is peculiar, since many of the same people had been arguing that the families earning over $250,000, who would be subject to higher tax rates under President Obama’s tax proposal, are actually part of the struggling middle class. They now want to convince us that a household with two Chicago public school teachers, who together earn less than 60 percent of President Obama’s cutoff, have more money than they should.
Anyhow, if we want to assess whether someone is getting too much money, we always have to ask the follow-up question, compared to what? Here are a few comparisons that I have found useful.
Source: Author’s calculations, see text.
The first comparison number is the annualized pay that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel got for a 14-month stint as a director at Freddie Mac. President Clinton appointed him as a director shortly after he left the
Anyhow, if we want to assess whether someone is getting too much money, we always have to ask the follow-up question, compared to what? Here are a few comparisons that I have found useful.
The first comparison number is the annualized pay that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel got for a 14-month stint as a director at Freddie Mac. President Clinton appointed him as a director shortly after he left the
Chicago Teachers’ Strike Enters Third Day
Negotiations are to begin late Wednesday morning, but there is no indication that a resolution is near.
What the Chicago Teacher Strike Reveals about Obama and “Progressivist” Media
For anyone in doubt about the anti-progressivist agenda of president Barack Obama need one look further than the situation currently transpiring with education in Chicago where the teachers have gone on strike?
Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s first chief of staff in the White House and now mayor of Chicago, is implementing a neoliberal model of education in a city that quintessentially captures Obama’s rightward orientation. After all, Chicago is Obama’s “stomping grounds.” What happens in Chicago reflects on Obama whether he chooses to act, speak, or do nothing. Of course, sitting on the sidelines during an assault on working conditions for teachers is an option for Obama, but it is an option that reflects on Obama. Foremost, sitting silently on the sidelines is usually not an attribute that reflects well on people who pose as leaders because being on the sidelines is by
Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s first chief of staff in the White House and now mayor of Chicago, is implementing a neoliberal model of education in a city that quintessentially captures Obama’s rightward orientation. After all, Chicago is Obama’s “stomping grounds.” What happens in Chicago reflects on Obama whether he chooses to act, speak, or do nothing. Of course, sitting on the sidelines during an assault on working conditions for teachers is an option for Obama, but it is an option that reflects on Obama. Foremost, sitting silently on the sidelines is usually not an attribute that reflects well on people who pose as leaders because being on the sidelines is by
