Since Monday Sept 10th, 29,000 public school educators of the city of Chicago are striking for better quality education for their students and for better working conditions of the teachers. This is Chicago’s first schools strike in 25 years.
We believe that the fact that the Chicago teachers managed to hold the strike for a weekis already a victory:
– They have managed to defeat the anti-labor legislation passed last year in Chicago mandating that 75% (instead of a simple majority) of the union members should authorize the strike. In June 2010, nearly 90% of the teachers voted to authorize the strike.
– This massive authorization vote gave them the strength to win during bargaining a 20% longer school day (7 hours more/week of education) and to hire back 477 teachers that were laid off over the last 3 years.
The strike is the best tool we have to fight back against the cuts and austerity! The Chicago teachers are winning!
But the fight is not over, because public education and the teachers are still under attack, and all their demands, that are also our demands, have not been met.
We need to support their strike and their demands:
Full funding. CTU believes there is no excuse for failing to fund schools. It has challenged the Board of Education’s claims that there is no money.
Defeat Merit Pay: The CTU is fighting the star of national misguided school reform policies.
Lower class size. Chicago has one of the largest class sizes in the state, and Rahm Emanuel has threatened to increase class size to 55. The union, along with many advocates, argues that lower class size will bolster student learning.
{module Propaganda 30 anos}Provide A Better School Day: Hire over 600 additional ‘special’ teachers in art, music, physical education, world languages and other classes to ensure students receive a better school day, a demand thousands of parents have called for since last year
Racial Diversity: The CTU continues to fight the District on its lay-off policies that has led to a record number of African American educators being laid off and eventually terminated by the District.
Teachers working conditions are students learning conditions!
The fight of the Chicago teachers for full funding of education and class sizes is also our fight!
We stand in total solidarity with the Chicago teachers Strike!
CTU’s Victory is Our Victory Too . . . for the students and workers at UC Berkeley!
La Voz de los trabajadores/Workers’ Voice
