Chicago Teachers Strike Continues
September 14, 2012
By Stephanie West
As contract talks drag on, the city’s 29,000 public school educators continue a labor protest that has shut down schools across the city. Polls indicate the majority of the public and parents support the teachers strike and blame Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the District’s education woes.
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) negotiation team finished Wednesday’s labor talk’s minutes before midnight saying “there has been significant movement in the last 24-hours—but we aren’t quite there yet,” said President Karen Lewis. “They’ve moved inches in some areas, now we need them to move yards; there’s no reason to prolong this any longer than they have. Until we have a clear landing, our members will stay engaged on the picket lines.”
On Saturday, labor, civil rights and education justice allies from around the country are expected to descend upon Chicago and join CTU members, parents and allies in a massive march for education justice.
According to Capitol Fax, an influential political report that covers state politics, “Chicago teachers have a strong majority of Chicagoans behind them, according to a new poll. Also, an overwhelming majority of Chicago parents with public school students support the strike, the poll found. And strong pluralities blame Mayor Rahm Emanuel.”
