Chicago teachers to vote on strike
Chicago teachers to vote on strike
Parents and striking teachers are waiting to learn whether students in the nation's third-largest school district will return to the classroom on Monday after a week of tense negotiations between the teachers union, the district, and representatives of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
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Saturday's rally was a boisterous show of strength and solidarity. Union members from Wisconsin, Minnesota and elsewhere joined in the chants and cheers as speaker after speaker urged Chicago's teachers to stand firm until they have a deal in writing. Speakers also assured Chicago teachers that their strike symbolized the hopes of other unions that have been losing ground nationwide.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson addressed the crowd, saying the strike was a "struggle for working people everywhere." He said there was still a long road to ensuring all residents of the city have equal access to quality schools, particularly in neighborhoods beset by gang violence and poverty.
"People are energized by this," said Marty Horning, a high school social studies teacher from Milwaukee who came to the rally with a busload of others. "I think that the line has to be drawn in terms of teacher bashing, union bashing and privatization of education. These forces and factors are not just in Chicago, not just in Wisconsin, but across the nation."
Solidarity!