Support Chicago Teachers Union

http://www.ctunet.com/

CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) today issued a 10-day notice of intent to strike to the Chicago Board of Education, following the passage of a resolution at the Union’s Sept. 28 House of Delegates meeting.  Rank-and-file CTU leadership voted overwhelmingly last night that the Union will go on strike Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016, if no contract agreement is reached by then. The resolution passed by the 800-member representative body follows last week’s citywide strike vote in which, based on a 90.6 percent turnout among eligible voting members, 95.6 percent of votes cast voted in favor to strike.

For years, the city of Chicago has diverted funds from education to pay for other pet projects, which has broken the district financially and robbed schools of much-needed programs and resources. The latest contract proposal from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s handpicked Board of Education is just more of the same—$100 million in layoffs and budget cuts, cuts to pensions, the loss of steps-and-lanes, increased health care costs and the continuation of a longer school day.

“Teachers already struggle to make ends meet, and go above and beyond by doing things like paying for classroom supplies out of pocket, so they sacrifice daily to protect their students and classrooms,” CTU President Karen Lewis said. “It’s time for the people who say they care about education, and who helped create these problems, to fund our schools and propose solutions which don’t hurt our kids even more.”

ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE:

• Join the CTU Social Media THUNDERCLAP here: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/47761-fair-contract-now

• Sign on to this Solidarity Statement: https://t.co/inzISqBJPV

• In addition to the above, to show our solidarity, organize folks to wear CTU red, make a banner in support of Chicago’s Teachers and Students, and take a photo to post on their social media pages.

• Various unions across the U.S. are planning continued days of action every Friday, starting October 14th until the contract is settled! Make sure your school joins in.

• Attend your union’s Executive Board and community organization’s leadership meetings to pass resolutions  for direct support for the CTU.