Hello Everyone,
Have been at a few of the picket lines around the 41st and have seen HUGE community & parent support for the teachers. Taft has had a large parent and student presence each day. I spoke to a few community members and teachers who reported a brief Alderman O'Connor sighting at Taft. I was told the Alderman didn't say much (what else is new), and the teachers couldn't quite figure out why she was there - she never came out and said she supported them. There is nothing in writing, either, about the alderman's stance on the strike.
Nevertheless, call the alderman's office and let her know you support the teachers, our childrens' educators, our neighbors and our friends. Insist she formally support the teachers and tell the mayor we want the teachers' concerns addressed immediately. If you have a few minutes, stop by and let the teachers know you support them and all of their efforts advocating for a better learning environment for our children.
State Senator Mulroe was with Alderman O'Connor at Taft. And yes, everyone was wondering why he voted FOR Rahm's Senate Bill 7. Rahm tried to sell this bill as "education reform", but it was really an anti-collective bargaining measure, setting up a 75 percent vote threshold for union members to authorize a strike. I'm disappointed in Sen. Mulroe for a number of reasons. He completely supported the mayor, thus disregarding the union teacher's (in his district) right to strike. Additionally, Sen. Mulroe's family has a union background, and he benefited greatly from the collective bargaining process and all of the other protections union membership offers. He should know better.
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| Garvy Teachers Hear Broadcast of the Pledge of Allegiance and Pause |
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Garvy School
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Taft High School in the Background - Sign on Bryn mawr
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41st is a union ward. City workers everywhere in the neighborhood and they know mayor is gunning for all city worker unions. the teachers are doing a great job with a united approach. The entire nation is rooting for them. And as far as the alderman, nevermind. Isn't worth the energy to type anything about her. Useless.
ReplyDeleteWe need to elect a school teacher for our next alderman. School teachers aren't afraid of the big bad bully mayor. The entire city council should be calling the mayor out on how he screwed up the negotiations.
ReplyDeleteTeachers Rock!!!! Go Teachers
ReplyDeleteO'connor signed the letter to ctu telling them not to strike. She clearly is not behing the teachers and is petrified to go against Rabm. The only support she gave teachers was buying them donuts and taking pictures. Absolutely gutless
ReplyDeleteAs phony as phony can be. I will remember at the voting booth, believe me. Agree with blogger. Everyone needs to call the gutless alderman and get their opposition on record. Flood media with comments and letters of support. Teachers are professionals. Replacing neighborhood schools with the mayor's friends charter schools is a mistake. Charter schools are out to profit, they are not invested in our communities, our kids or our schools. They give the mayor large sums of money in the form of campaign contributions, to the mayor, and dictate education in our city. Worst of all, they don't have any better outcomes - their test scores are the same and lower. Another stupid rahm scheme - just like NAFTA, which he drafted and sold the nation on.
DeleteTime to reveiw Rahm's lifetime achievments.
Delete1. Raised $$$ for Daley's first succefull mayoral run by armtwisting big dollar donors.
2. Used his money-raising reputation to be hired by Bill Clinton to, again armtwisting big dollar donors.
3. Hired by President Clinton to become top White House NAFTA lobbyist. Trade deal eventually passes, resulting in the closing of 50,000 American factories and the outsourcing of 5 million manufactoring jobs.
4. After leaving White House, Rahm uses insider information obtained there to enrich himself to the tune of 16 million dollars in just 3 years as an "investment banker."
5. Bullies his way past local office holders to obtain Democratic Party nomination for NW side Congressional seat.
6. Votes in favor of the Iraq war, resulting in the needless deaths of thousands of American Troops, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens, and the near destruction of that nation.
7. Is elected Mayor of Chicago.
Don't hold your breath waiting for the alderman to stand with the teachers. She will NEVER do anything to cross the mayor. We, the voters mean nothing. And in 2015 she will tout a boat load of lies and treat us like dopes who have no memory of all the harm she has done.
ReplyDeleteNow that it looks like the strike is nearing completion, I predict Mary will issue a staement expressing her support for the teachers to cover herself. Too little too late. Just watch....
ReplyDeleteKaren Lewis is spot on when she predicts Rahm will close perhaps a hundred schools when the CBA ink is dry. He will close the schools purely for spite. This mayor is pure evil.
ReplyDeleteTeachers- thanks for everything you do. GREAT photos by the way.
ReplyDeleteLake Forest has the right idea. They are going to hire all new teachers on Monday if the striking teachers don't return.
ReplyDeleteAnd Lake Forest will get what they pay for... They will lose their seasoned, experienced teacher workforce, and Lake Forest parents will never put up with that. Hiring new teachers takes time - background checks, physicals, drug tests, checking references, etc... will take weeks.
DeleteI don't believe the Lake Forest school board will follow thru with that threat. This is their first strike and they are posturing.
Hey 5:16. FOX NEWS is on the air. Return to your Lazy-Boy, put on your foil hat , and work yourself into a hate-filled rant.
DeleteThe Lake Forest plan for Monday: Babysitting with volunteers. Far cry from replacing teachers.
DeleteI'm sure Alderman O'Connor is, at this very moment, busy writing a scathing letter to the other members of the city council and the mayor regarding the billionaire society maven, Penny Pritzker, receiving 5 million dollars in TIF funds.
ReplyDeleteNOT! What a laugh, this alderman would allow the mayor to give billionaires, billions of dollars taxpayor dollars, unquestioned. We need a teacher to be the next alderman - teachers aren't afraid!
TIF funds that really should be allocated to the general fund for education. TIF is the mayor's private slush fund for the rich.
DeletePrincess Pritzker should return our 5 million bucks, and Obama should send back her filthy trust fund money.
ReplyDeleteStill not a word from the Aldreman regarding the strike. Does she even know one is going on?
ReplyDeleteWhy hasn't one alderman in this city DEMANDED Penny Pritzker pay back the 5 million dollars she got from taxpayer dollars via the TIF funds? 5 million dollars could buy lots of air conditioners for "the children" (as Rahm calls them). And certainly, Alderman O'Connor who has made public education, her number one priority, should come out, in writing, her opposition and demand for a full refund!!!
ReplyDeleteI will not vote for O'Connor, Mulroe again and I've been a democrat for 50 years. Time for an independent, who will work for the people.
ReplyDeleteThe 5 million to the Princess is called doubledown Reagannomics. Meaning since tax cuts for rich people, which were supposed to "trickle down" to workers, failed, then surely just flat out handing rich people giant wads of cash will do the trick.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant Rahm. I promise never to doubt you again.
Just an FYI: Your Alderman O'Connor SIGNED the letter to Karen Lewis and the CTU asking them not to strike. She was one of 33 alderman who were NOT supporting the teachers' right to strike. Shame on her. What is truly amazing are the large number of CTU members who live in her ward. She obviously doesn't want to run for alderman again in 2015. Might be time for a teacher to run for 41st Ward alderman.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Cullerton signed the letter, but verabally "support the teachers" (what a crock). Sposato did not sign. The 17 aldermen who did not sign supported the teachers or thought the letter should go to the mayor and CPS admin, too.
Anyone have any ideas who would be a candidate for 41st ward alderman, whether Dem or Rep? I know it certainly isn't O'Connor and poor Mulroe is risking his job by being so cozy with her.
ReplyDeleteMulroe was the one who put her in office....they are jokes and have no idea what it's like to working class...police, fire, teacher, city worker...punching a time clock is hard work, so is paying outrageous taxes and having an alderman that votes to use your tax dollars on the mayors priorities...can u say 16th district police officers working on the south and west sides? Can u say public schools overcrowded and falling apart? Thanks Mary, I'm glad your never at work and always at the restaurant...you will need the practice when your not re-elected by the actual 41st ward
DeletePlease come out and show your support for the CPS teachers tomorrow! Rumor has it that one of our local neighborhood schools will be closed down in order to make room for one of Rahm's beloved charter schools. The 41st ward does not need any charter schools! The neighborhood schools in the 41st ward are some of the best in the city! We need to come together and let O'Connor know that the constituents of the 41st ward support our local schools & not the charter school bandwagon!
ReplyDeleteIt is a vicious cycle. They get a pay raise and our property taxes go up again. Then they go back at end of contract and bitch about the cost of living in the city so they ask for another raise. Stop the madness.
ReplyDeleteSo millions of dollars in TIF money handed to billionares does not bother you, but hard working people who live all around you seeking a just wage does.
DeleteI'll tell you what madness is. Reading your post.
CPS had 8 months to offer a decent contract. They wait until the last possible moment, and expect the teachers to process the new contract in a few hours without discussion amongst members? I'm happy to hear the judge had sense to give the teachers time to process and react - after all the mayor had 8 months. Fair is Fair. The mayor is nothing but a bully, who has no social skills and knows nothing about talking to people or how to treat people with respect. The children will be much better off in an environment with books, air conditioning, social workers, and teachers who feel respected.
ReplyDelete41st Ward Mom
So, we pay these huge property taxes and we will get cheap, cut-rate charter schools contracted out to the lowest bidder? Yeah, I want that for my kid after paying many thousands of dollars/year in property tax. NOT! Rham better not try to slither over to the 41st with one of his slimy charter schools run by his campaign contributors.
ReplyDeleteTeachers: Hang in there and get everything you can! I will always support the hard working people who directly work with my son. I have seen how dedicated the teachers are at Oriole Park School.
ReplyDeleteYou GO, teachers. Finally, someone who isn't afraid of the mayor. The mayor screwed this up. Can't wait for the police and fireman negotiations.
ReplyDeleteSB7 Primer:
ReplyDeleteChicago Teachers Union fights anti-bargaining bill SB7
By Staff | May 9, 2011
Chicago, IL - An anti-bargaining bill disguised as an education reform bill has passed through the Illinois Senate and moved on to the Illinois House of Representatives. This bill called SB7, includes many components that will take away the Chicago Teachers Union’s (CTU) bargaining rights and rights to strike.
If this bill passes, the CTU will need 75% of a bargaining unit to vote “yes” to strike. 75% is a very difficult number to reach, since the bargaining unit includes agency fee members that do not vote for the union. The CTU will not be able to actually go on strike for many months due to ‘fact finding’ procedures, which could go on into the months of December. After many months of waiting, teachers could be demoralized and lose their enthusiasm to march out of their schools. With these strike restrictions, the teachers have little leverage in their fight for a strong contract, which is a little over a year away for the CTU.
Other components of the bill that reduce workers rights include provisions stating that the union may not file grievances against unfair layoffs with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board. It also overturns court cases the union won concerning layoffs and seniority (including a recent court case that restored seniority). Essentially this will remove teachers’ rights of seniority, so layoffs will be left at the discretion of principals, many of whom will try to trim their schools’ budget for teachers’ salaries by firing experienced teachers.
Grievances concerning length of the workday and length of the school year would not be heard by the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board. This provision will give the Board of Education or the CEO of Chicago Public Schools free reign to lengthen the school day as they please. The CTU is allowed to bargain for extra pay, but if there is little leverage of a potential strike, then the Board of Education will unlikely agree to extra pay for the teachers. An extended school year is another permissible negotiating item where the board can add days to the school year without considering teacher or community input.
Billionaires and businessmen with no interest in supporting public education were the chief creators of SB7. This bill was created to weaken the teachers’ unions who protect public education and the students in Illinois. If the teachers’ unions are weakened, the businessmen have greater power in the privatization of schools and stealing money from public education. Already 10% of Chicago Public Schools have been turned into non-unionized charter schools and the Chicago Public Schools board of education recently passed proposals for more charter schools.
On May 4, a motion passed through the Chicago Teachers’ Union House of Delegates that condemns the bill and requires the union to “mobilize its members to fight in order to keep our collective bargaining rights.” The Illinois State Board of Education is also upset about components of the bill and is urging the legislators to amend it.
Isn't this the same senate that voted in favor of giving hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts to Sears, Caterpillar, and the criminal enterprise aka the Chicago Mercantile Exchange?
DeleteOh, and Boeing. They were handed several million dollars just to transfer a few dozen office jobs downtown - By the city council.
So quit asking why there's no money for our students. The state senate, Rahm, and the city council clearly have other priorities.
Boeing's profit for 2011 - 5.1 billion dollars. Tax dollars paid to the federal goverment in 2011? Zero. Zilch. Nada.
DeleteI belive the Alderman is going to be at the Jewell on Foster and Harlem from 4:30-6:30 tonight with Jan Schakosky. If I were a teacher I would head over there and ask the alderman why she stood completely silent during this strike. I know what the answer is, " because Rahm told me to", but I would want to hear it out of her own mouth.
ReplyDeleteTeachers and students Win! Good going teachers! Union haters and Rahm, you lose!
ReplyDeleteGood going teachers, you are great role models for the students. You will not be messed with by the oppressors
ReplyDeleteGlad its over. I learned much about how I can't trust elected officials to do the right thing for the very people who voted for them. Shame on you alderman O'Connor and State Senator Mulroe.
ReplyDeleteOn tonight's 10:00 news I tore throught the Kleenex box, overwelmed by the profundidity of our great mayor, Rahm 'Socrates' Emanual. I watched as a weepy Rahm declared, "Our children our are future."
ReplyDeleteTonight, you may be awakened by a clap of thunder on what looks like a calm and clear September night. Don't be alarmed. There are only so many seats in the heavens for the gods of wisdom. And one of them got knocked off to make room for the genius of the man we call mayor - Rahm Emanual.
Great comment!
DeleteThere should have been contract language demanding Rahm stop using CPS students, "the children", as political props. If he continues to abuse students' roles in CPS, someone should call DCFS and report him.
Well done, teachers.
ReplyDeleteNot so much, taxpayers.
ReplyDelete