Chicago public school teachers and support staff—on strike since October 17 for smaller class sizes and improved services for students—received a boost Tuesday when they were joined on the picket lines by Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren.
The Massachusetts senator joined strikers with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and SEIU Local 73 outside Oscar DePriest Elementary in the Austin neighborhood on the city’s West Side. “The CTU and SEIU are out on strike for our children. They’re out on strike for working people everywhere,” Warren, who was once a public school teacher herself, told reporters. “I’m here to stand with every one of the people who stand for our children every day.”
Warren’s visit comes as talks between the unions and the city appear to have broken down. On Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote an open letter to CTU president Jesse Sharkey, calling on the union to end the strike without a contract as negotiations continue—essentially telling the teachers to surrender their only leverage at the bargaining table.
“We are likely not going to see a quick settlement to the ongoing strike,” Sharkey said at a press conference after receiving the mayor’s letter. “I came in today with raised expectations and hope, but the letter I received today dashed my hope for a quick settlement.”
In These Times https://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/22130/elizabeth-warren-chicago-teachers-union-2020-strike
For reports on Sacramento Teachers Union budget fight see
https://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-mess-in-scusd-budget.html
For reports on Sacramento Teachers Union budget fight see
https://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-mess-in-scusd-budget.html
No comments:
Post a Comment