Chicago teachers' answer to SB7 -- Vote yes in strike poll

The Chicago Teachers Union has put the mayor and his Board of Ed cronies on notice. After Stand For Children bankrolled the passage of SB7, corporate reformers thought they had essentially eliminated the threat of a teachers strike. The new law bans strikes without 75% approval from union members. So the CTU took the issue right to the rank-and-file and got the approval they needed. The teachers responded to the "hostile environment" created by the mayor, loudly and clearly.

Chicago Public School officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have created such a “hostile” climate that teacher leaders in 150 schools polled CTU members about support for a strike, Lewis and other CTU officials said. At each school, Lewis said, at least 75 percent of teachers favored a strike “should contract negotiations fail” and “CPS and the mayor do not reverse the hostile climate against us.” -- Sun-Times

No money for schools but...

During his press conference to tout $6.8 million in new high-definition cameras at 14 high schools, the mayor's hand-picked schools CEO, J.C. Brizard insisted he had “tremendous respect’’ for teachers and it was “unfortunate’’ teachers were talking about strikin

CPS still obstructing LSCs, says Don Moore

“I would say their overall pattern during the election period has been to obstruct and limit the number of candidates,” says Don Moore, executive director of Designs for Change and one of the authors of the 1988 legislation that created LSCs. Moore, a self-described “irritant” for CPS, has been steadily following Local School Councils and prodding CPS for information for 15 years. -- Center Square Journal