On Wednesday September 12th, 2012 the GEO Stewards’ Council voted to send a letter of support to the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Thirty-thousand members of the CTU are currently on strike after having reached an impasse in contract negotiations with the city’s Board of Education.
The Chicago Teachers Union is currently on the front lines of a fight to defend public education. On one side the members of the CTU have called for a contract that includes fair compensation, meaningful job security for qualified teachers, smaller class sizes, and appropriate staffing levels.
On the other side, the Chicago Board of Education—which is managed by out of town reformers and Broad Foundation hires with little or no Chicago public school experience—has pushed to adopt unproven “quality improvement” measures that rely on standardized test scores and limits teachers’ rights.
GEO stands in solidarity with CTU as it fights for educational justice. Their fight for fair compensation and adequate classroom support is our fight. Here’s what you can do to help:
–Call Rahm Emmanuel’s office to ask that the Board finalize a fair contract with teachers now:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office: 312.744.5000 or 312.744.3300
Chicago Public Schools’ office: 773.553.1500
This call is short and simple: “Hello, I’m calling to express my support for the Chicago Teachers Union, and to urge the city to settle a fair contact as soon as possible.”
–Wear red in solidarity
–Share CTU memes and information on Facebook
–Go to a mass rally: if the strike continues, watch for updates from GEO about carpooling to Chicago to attend.
–Contribute to the CTU strike fund here.
Below is our letter of solidarity.
12 September 2012
Karen Lewis
President
Chicago Teachers’ Union
To our brothers and sisters of the Chicago Teachers Union,
We are writing to express our solidarity in your fight for a fair contract with the Chicago Board of Education. Your action sets a strong example for unions across the country; you are standing together to raise awareness about the needs of students and teachers in your city and in public schools.
Your action is especially important during an economic climate that gives privatization-minded critics of public education an opportunity to argue that cuts must be made on the backs of teachers and students. And as we also know, the so-called accountability measures they push do not improve student learning but show blatant disrespect to the hard work teachers do every day.
In the coming hours (and possibly days), we wish you luck in persuading the Board to truly support education in their city by creating classroom conditions that make learning possible, which includes fair compensation and professional support for teachers.
In solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
American Federation of Teachers Local 3550
University of Michigan
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