Stephanie Hayes of Ashe Elementary School reacts to the news that delegates for the Chicago Teachers Union voted to suspend the strike. — Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune, Sept. 18, 2012
THE SEVEN-DAY LONG teachers’ strike in Chicago finally ended last night with a compromise deal between the teachers’ union and Ralm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago and former Chief of Staff for President Obama. The teachers’ union have held 350,000 children under hostage over a contract deal with the city. The union boss, Karen Lewis, initially announced strike just hours before school was set to begin last Monday, September 10th. The flash, ambush decision distressed many working parents, whom were forced to find babysitters or call relatives last minute. This instance is not so different from Wisconsin teachers’ union, who forced class cancellation for a few days last year in protest of Governor Scott Walker’s policy against collective bargaining.With the new salary increase in the negotiated contract, put together by union bosses, the city is set to spend additional $74 million on the salary increase the first year alone. Seven days, seven mils. Not bad….
Consider this: if our nation’s teachers would forsake class days for personal aggrandizement, then we have a real education crisis, as teachers no longer put priority on their students. Teachers’ unions have truly poisoned the otherwise honorable profession of teaching. Don’t get me wrong. We have phenomenal teachers in all corners of our country, but teachers and teachers’ union are not always the same. Political interests dominate teachers’ union. The union’s primary role is to negotiate packages and contracts that most benefit its members. That objective is inherently misaligned with that of teachers.
The Dissent 