https://socialistaction.org/2016/06/14/chicago-teachers-union-considers-strike/
Chicago teachers union considers strike
/ 2 mins ago
By MARK UGOLINI
Although a 30-day “cooling-off period” is now expired, and a teachers
strike is allowed per state law, the May 4 Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)
House of Delegates meeting did not set a strike date. The delegates
discussed a new aspect of their campaign to press Chicago’s City Council
and Mayor to provide funding necessary to operate public schools.
The CTU also announced that if Democratic Party Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s
appointed school board decides to unilaterally cancel a 7 percent
pension benefit, as school board officials threatened last February, an
emergency House of Delegates meeting would be called to provide the
required 10-day notice and set a strike date.
The CTU membership has already authorized a strike. If one is called,
the union will decide whether the strike will occur before the end of
the current school year (June 21), or at the start of the fall term in
September.
CTU has been without a contract since June 30, 2015, when the contract
reached after the seven-day strike of September 2012 expired. Talks
between Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and CTU have been ongoing for the
past 18 months.
On April 16, a fact finder, Steven Bierig, recommended that the parties
reconsider an old CPS contract offer that had already been unanimously
rejected by the CTU bargaining team. On the same day the CTU formally
rejected the proposal, making it a “dead letter” and thus starting a
30-day countdown to a possible strike.
The House of Delegates gave union officers authority to immediately
reject the fact-finding report if its conclusions offered “no
substantial breakthrough in terms of class-size limits, reasonable
economics, or the closure of devastating loopholes.”
A CTU press release explains: “The previously-rejected contract proposal
made by CPS on January 29 would result in teachers taking home less in
earnings at the end of the proposed four-year contract than they earn
today.” The proposal would also phase out over two years a 7 percent CPS
pension contribution, and limit salary “steps and lanes” increases. Both
of these have been features of teacher contracts over many years, and
remain key issues for the teachers.
Prior to the May 4 House of Delegates meeting, the CTU released details
of a $502 million CPS “revenue recovery package,” calling on Emanuel and
the city council to act on its recommendations.
“We have identified half a billion dollars that can triage the bleeding
at CPS,” said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey. “We are asking the mayor
and aldermen to implement what we believe is a solid package of
financial emergency supports to ensure our district does not go belly up
… our revenue recovery package is necessary right now to stave off mass
layoffs, school closings and more furloughs that will wreak havoc on our
students and classrooms. Over the next few weeks we’ll be lobbying every
city council member to support this plan.”
In a CTU press release the union proposes the state government enact a
progressive tax structure, a Millionaire’s Tax, and a financial
transaction tax. Locally, the union proposes that the mayor and city
council “consider a number of local revenue options, which the City of
Chicago city council could approve.”
This $502 million package would reinstate a Corporate Employer “Head
Tax”; and initiate a Personal Property Lease Tax, a Ride Sharing Tax on
services like UBER and LYFT, a Hotel Accommodations Tax, a Vehicle Fuel
Tax, and a Commercial Property Tax Assessment.
It would also allocate surplus funds from Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
accounts. TIF financing is a tool used by the city of Chicago to promote
business investment. Currently, TIF accounts, funded from local property
taxes, have an estimated surplus of up to $350 million.
The attack on the CTU is clearly part of a broader, statewide bipartisan
assault on union rights, public education, and social services. The CTU
is in the crosshairs of both a Republican governor’s “Turnaround Agenda”
and a Democratic Party mayor’s drive to privatize schools and seriously
weaken unions.
The April 1 Day of Action and one-Day CTU strike was a powerful
expression of solidarity of Chicago teachers and their supporters around
the city and throughout the county. More than 50 unions, community
groups, and student organizations participated in the day of protests,
and nearly 20,000 teachers and supporters took to the streets in a
late-afternoon mass demonstration to stand up for teachers and defend
all those targeted by this statewide, bipartisan austerity offensive.
The path forward involves building on this success, deepening solidarity
among other powerful Chicago unions, and soliciting their active
support. This means continuing to mobilize in opposition to the
Rauner/Emanuel austerity program, while remaining independent
of the two big-money parties. The capitalist Democratic and Republican
party politicians in City Hall and Springfield are in the service of big
business and cannot be relied on to deliver the solutions needed. It is
only the powerful force of mass action and independent struggle that
will force concessions, partial gains, and future victories.
A theme of the April 1 Day of Action was “Broke On Purpose,” a
recognition that this “budget crisis” was manufactured by Rauner and his
vacation friend Rahm Emanuel, who are primarily interested in promoting
their pro-big-business agenda. They are joined at the hip in their quest
to weaken and break Illinois unions and cater to the profit lust of
large corporations and their billionaire friends, like Illinois’ richest
man, hedge-fund tycoon Ken Griffin. As just one example of many, Griffin
has been rewarded with millions in tax breaks in real estate and other
business transactions with the city.
The issue is not one of promoting budget “fairness” or “shared
sacrifice.” For working people, the budgets of capitalist governments
have never been fair—and never will be. It’s always the working class
that pays, and when a periodic “crisis” emerges, the working class is
always called on to pay more.
This emphasizes the pressing need for a labor party. Such a party could
champion the struggles of workers in the political arena. A labor party
would build political opposition to the two capitalist parties on a
broader scale, and pose an alternative view–that what we face is not a
narrow budget issue, and not centrally one of “fairness” or “shared
sacrifice.” For working people the budgets of capitalist governments
have never been fair, and never will be. It’s always the working class
that pays, and when a periodic “crisis” emerges, the working class is
always called on to pay more.
A labor party could mobilize other forces in the labor movement to call
for a budget that puts people before profits. If government budgets need
to be balanced, balance them on the backs of the billionaires like Ken
Griffin and his friends, their big corporations, their tax-advantaged
hedge funds, and their tax-free off-shore accounts—not from the pockets
of working people compelled to endure the devastating daily reality of
economic injustice.
Share this:
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
June 14, 2016 in Chicago, Labor, Uncategorized. Tags: CTU, teachers
Related posts
Chicago teachers union votes to oppose anti-labor law
April-2016-Teachers-1-e1459963315347
Day of Action for Chicago teachers
Chicago Teachers Union authorizes strike
Post navigation
← The presidential election: What’s left?
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month June 2016 (7) May 2016 (9) April 2016
(12) March 2016 (14) February 2016 (8) January 2016 (11) December
2015 (11) November 2015 (9) October 2015 (8) September 2015 (10)
August 2015 (7) July 2015 (13) June 2015 (9) May 2015 (10) April
2015 (12) March 2015 (9) February 2015 (11) January 2015 (10)
December 2014 (12) November 2014 (11) October 2014 (9) September
2014 (6) August 2014 (10) July 2014 (11) June 2014 (10) May 2014
(11) April 2014 (10) March 2014 (9) February 2014 (11) January 2014
(11) December 2013 (10) November 2013 (11) October 2013 (17)
September 2013 (13) August 2013 (10) July 2013 (11) June 2013 (15)
May 2013 (14) April 2013 (14) March 2013 (12) February 2013 (10)
January 2013 (17) December 2012 (7) November 2012 (8) October 2012
(19) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (27) July 2012 (18) June 2012
(3) May 2012 (19) April 2012 (14) March 2012 (17) February 2012 (19)
January 2012 (17) December 2011 (3) November 2011 (33) October 2011
(14) September 2011 (13) August 2011 (34) July 2011 (24) June 2011
(19) May 2011 (19) April 2011 (15) March 2011 (15) February 2011
(16) January 2011 (15) December 2010 (17) November 2010 (1) October
2010 (6) September 2010 (3) August 2010 (8) July 2010 (7) June 2010
(2) May 2010 (9) April 2010 (3) March 2010 (8) February 2010 (3)
January 2010 (9) December 2009 (6) November 2009 (5) October 2009
(16) September 2009 (3) August 2009 (2) July 2009 (5) June 2009 (2)
May 2009 (7) April 2009 (6) March 2009 (16) February 2009 (9)
January 2009 (10) December 2008 (11) November 2008 (8) October 2008
(16) September 2008 (14) August 2008 (18) July 2008 (12) June 2008
(3) May 2008 (2) April 2008 (3) March 2008 (14) February 2008 (11)
January 2008 (11) December 2007 (8) November 2007 (1) July 2007 (1)
June 2007 (1) April 2007 (1) March 2007 (1) February 2007 (3)
December 2006 (11) November 2006 (11) October 2006 (13) September
2006 (15) August 2006 (11) July 2006 (18) June 2006 (7) May 2006
(14) April 2006 (6) March 2006 (14) February 2006 (5) January 2006
(2) December 2005 (9) November 2005 (8) October 2005 (13) September
2005 (12) August 2005 (9) July 2005 (16) June 2005 (16) May 2005
(16) April 2005 (12) March 2005 (14) February 2005 (19) January 2005
(15) December 2004 (14) November 2002 (17) October 2002 (19) September
2002 (22) August 2002 (21) July 2002 (15) May 2002 (21) April 2002
(21) February 2002 (15) January 2002 (15) December 2001 (17) October
2001 (24) September 2001 (18) July 2001 (19) June 2001 (18) October
2000 (17) September 2000 (21) August 2000 (19) July 2000 (16) June
2000 (26) May 2000 (21) April 2000 (22) March 2000 (28) February
2000 (18) January 2000 (20) December 1999 (20) November 1999 (26)
October 1999 (25) September 1999 (18) August 1999 (40) July 1999
(38) June 1999 (24) May 1999 (27) April 1999 (25) March 1999 (26)
February 1999 (29) January 1999 (24) July 1998 (12)
Search
Get Involved
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
View socialistactionusa’s profile on Facebook
View SocialistActUS’s profile on Twitter
View SocialistActionCT’s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Blog at WordPress.com. The Expound Theme.
