Chicago mayor seeks injunction to end teachers strike

[proud2BlibKansan]

Source: CHICAGO (CNN)


The week-old teachers strike in Chicago's public schools will continue into the new week, after a representative group of the Chicago Teachers Union decided not to end the strike even though union leaders and school officials had reached a tentative contract deal.

The move left Mayor Rahm Emanuel vowing to go to court to force teachers back to work, calling Sunday's actions by the union "a delay of choice that is wrong for our children."

The mayor announced in a statement that he's asked city lawyers "to file an injunction in circuit court to immediately end this strike." He contended the strike is illegal because "it is over issues that are deemed by state law to be non-strikable, and it endangers the health and safety of our children."

"I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union," Emanuel said.

Read more: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Chicago-mayor-seeks-injunction-to-end-teachers-strike/-/475880/16621542/-/item/0/-/dqbwuw/-/index.html

[marmar]

1. Rahm finds the exercise of democracy to be terribly inconvenient.

nt

[SoapBox]

2. Ditto

My thoughts exactly.

[leftyohiolib]

3. "I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within

a union" therefore i will use the kids as pawns to force the teachers to accept orders from the dictator.

[PatrynXX]

9. hypocrite

nuff said..

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. My thoughts exactly.

Last edited Mon Sep 17, 2012, 12:35 AM - Edit history (1)

It's okay for Rahm to use the kids as pawns, but the teachers can't.

[riderinthestorm]

4. Perfect. Let him make this an even bigger public relations fiasco.

The last polling I saw shows most parents are still behind the teachers.

[Plaid Adder]

7. That will change quick if this strike goes on another week.

If you want to know how weak support for labor is in this country, listen to a bunch of middle-class parents discuss the Chicago teachers' strike. It is extremely depressing. Yes, it's a huge pain in the ass to have to scramble for child care. But the idea of suffering a short-term inconvenience in order to get a long-term gain seems to ahve very little traction with them.

The Plaid Adder

[riderinthestorm]

12. Oh I 110% agree. Right now its just a few days but if it stretches on, the mood will shift

and Rahmbo will win.

Honestly, I'm unnerved by the level of passive acquiescence to the plight of unions in the US right now.

Karen Lewis is electrifying but even she can't hold public opinion forever. I was hoping for a resolution today. I trust the CTU and Lewis to get this done right, and I'm sure Lewis knows the political climate, but if they become insulated in a bubble, that would be bad.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. I disagree.

One of the many smart things Karen Lewis did BEFORE the strike was build community support. She spent 5 years building coalitions with parent and community groups. There's a bond there that isn't going to be broken by a strike. The parents want schools improved just as much as the teachers.

[msanthrope]

18. I'll tell you the PR line that jumped out at me--

Another point of contention involves the teacher evaluation system, Lewis said. The tentative contract would change it for first time since 1967, taking into account "student growth (for the) first time," according to the school system. And those teachers who are rated as "unsatisfactory and developing" could potentially be laid off.


http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html

That is a winner of a meme, and I've seen it already on several outlets.

[Robb]

5. Can someone reconcile the facts of this for me?

They decided not to vote to accept or reject the contract proposal, but Lewis said the majority of delegates don't support the contract as it stands.

Why not simply vote to reject, rather than elect not to vote? Is the leadership trying to convince the delegates it's a good deal?

[msanthrope]

10. I'm interested in hearing an answer to this...either way, I suspect a TRO will be

issued in the am to either force a vote, or force the union back to work.

[Travis_0004]

13. I think they needed more time to discuss it with the rank and file members

My assumption is if the contract was great, and had everything they wanted, they would have urged their members to vote yes, and held the full vote. If it was horrible they would have not voted at all.

As it stand, my assumption is there are some points they like, and some they don't so they want to discuss it with their members for 2 days, and hold a vote on tuesday.

[msanthrope]

17. No--they voted, and I think that's why they are going to get a TRO issued--

No formal vote of delegates was taken, but they were asked to stand up so that the union leadership could get a sense of how many were for and against ending the strike, delegates said.

"A clear majority wanted to stay out. That's why we are staying out," Lewis told a news conference after a three-hour meeting of the delegates.

SNIP

Before the meeting of delegates on Sunday, Lewis had called the agreement a "good contract." But after the decision to extend the strike she backtracked, saying: "This is not a good deal. This is the deal we got."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49056257

Karen Lewis may not realize this, but having the delegates stand could be construed as a vote--and a vote to reject. Under SB7, the teachers do not get to strike for non-economic issues, and I think that the city could make a credible case that non-economic issues are still being bargained for.

[ancianita]

22. The 23 page summary of changes is also about strikable benefits info.

I saw it in that contract outline the rank and file are considering today. As long as teachers are considering the "Wellness" program being offered as an opt-in medical coverage plan in that 23 page outline, they still have strike-worthy issues on the table.

[msanthrope]

24. Let's hope that Karen Lewis does not try to seriously argue that in a court.

Is CTU really against a 'Wellness' plan?

[AngryAmish]

25. That is not the point

By statute, teachers can only strike on "compensation" issues. This language was put in there to put the union in a trick bag. The city can argue that all the teachers are striking about is money for their members if there is a strike. The city can then say they did not take away their right to strike.

CTU is going to argue that the wellness program goes to compensation and thus strikable.

If this strike is ruled illegal then the union might be on the hook for private damages from every parent who has to pay for babysitting or misses a day of work. That would be a large number.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. My impression is they are concerned about having enough time to read the 800 page contract

That's the sense I got from various emails and Facebook postings by Chicago teachers. The Jewish holiday also put a crunch on time today. So they decided to wait, give the delegates 48 hours to study the agreement and come back together as a body on Tuesday. It sounds like they will be voting then.

[Plaid Adder]

6. As if he gives a rat's ass about the children of Chicago.

Apart from his own, of course; but his kids are safely ensconced at the Lab School, where teacher performance is not tied to student test results.

@#$!.

THe Plaid Adder

[chuckstevens]

8. Prediction

Can you say ONE TERM Mayor?

[Iwillnevergiveup]

20. I can

and it sounds very good.

Was very happy when Rham left the Obama administration, and it will be nice to see him depart the mayor's spot as well. Wonder how many teachers voted for him only to be smacked down.

[hobbit709]

11. How about an injunction to shut you up Rahmbo?

[longship]

19. Teachers collectively give Rahm the raspberries!

Here's to you Rahm!

PBpbpbpbpbpbpbpb!

[socialist_n_TN]

21. Way to up the ante Rham.........

They want time to study the contract before they vote and he wants to push them into taking it as is. One thing that I'm impressed with is the union bureaucracy in this particular case. The SEEM to be allowing the membership a leading role in accepting or rejecting the contract. I like that.

I sincerely hope that if the legal system gets involved, other unions get involved too. Shut Chicago down and see how long Rham holds out.

[ancianita]

23. The janitors union is up next to strike.

They filed an intent form with the board last week. So, this could grow...

[socialist_n_TN]

26. A good start, but..........

I want to see the private sector unions (however weak they are) get involved too, even if it's just a short term "sympathy" strike. You also need supporters on the streets in mass demonstrations. Because of Taft-Hartley all of those actions are illegal, but it needs to happen. If you win the strike, you can get any violations of T-H dismissed. The important thing is to win the strike, ESPECIALLY if Emmanuel is going to be a dick about it and get the courts involved.

[ancianita]

27. Occupy Chicago is out there on the streets and on the nets

Your concern is appreciated.

Rahm's losing on the court front and the union's filed a complaint with the NLRB over his tactics.
The CTU's done with 'selling' education and now is in the struggle stage. As time passes, perhaps even the engineers union will join, which they have for most of past strikes. Disinfo is having some effect on young unionists, but their is sufficient good info sources on the nets to help them learn their rights in order to hang tough enough to continue.

[ancianita]

28. It's not fair to expect "all or nothing," or that anything short of that is a fail.

[alp227]

29. Remember when Rahm actually called liberals "retarded"?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2010/02/rahm_emanuel_calls_liberals_fing_retarded.html

And now he wants to boss around TEACHERS despite having the mouth of an immature third grader? "Retarded HAHAHAHAHAA" What a troll.