because many rely on schools and teachers as a day care facility, and teachers should use this as there jump board. Solidarity Forever, and the Union makes us strong!

86% of the 350,000 children affected by this strike are on free or reduced lunch. This means they come from very poor families. Where the parents WORK, or are out looking for work. They don't have babysitters. And they send their kids to school to learn.

How dare you say these people use the schools as day care. That's a terrible thing to say about a largely poor population when the teachers are asking for a 19% raise in the next year. If teachers ask for respect for themselves, some respect better be shown to the parents and students of the district, too.

And they call this a liberal board.

I'm glad the Teachers Union is not backing down. Rahm Emanuel came and thought he could just push around city employees. This is the first union to stand up to him and hopefully other unions that represent city workers do the same.

We have our strike camp set up, and we're with you. Will bring a Box o' Joe to the picket line at my daughter's school tomorrow.

What the media doesn't report is that it is getting harder for the teachers to teach and the kids are getting the short end of the stick. Crowded classes, days taken away from teaching to teach to the test and benchmark test. They have managed to kill the joy of learning.

And to make it worse, everyone is trying to make teachers the bad guy. You never make a ton of money as a teacher and you frequently have to reach into you own pocket to help get things for your students like supplies, food, clothes.

Thanks for supporting your teachers.

STAND UP for your rights teachers in Chicago! Solidarity!

always a rough situation -- especially now with election season coming up.

To the OP, your kids are trampled much, much more when teachers and families accept the garbage that is being foisted on them today by corporate politicians.

lets face facts. chicago and the state of illinois are broke. raising taxes isnt really an option given how high they are already in illinois. the teachers rejected a 16% raise over 4 years. you can argue all day whether thats to much or to little but the fact is the city is broke and the schools suck. there is no more money. period...
im not normally a fan of union busting but this may be a case where its called for.
the average chicago school teacher makes over 70k a year. thats either the highest or second highest in the country.

Otherwise the city and teachers would have reached a solution by now, and I've heard the teachers complaining about Emanuel a lot. Perhaps Emanuel KNOWS that the right wing is going to jump all over this story as a great campaign ad opportunity (Obama + Emanuel + Chicago + labor) and MUST act tough to get the elephant off his back.

Firing all of the CPS teachers would not only end his career in Chicago politics but it could sink Obama's re-election chances, because the teachers unions across the nation would pull their support from Obama because of his close ties with the person who destroyed the CTU. So be careful what you wish for because you might not like the result.
The teachers are not the only union that is pissed with Emanuel. You can go from department to department within the City of Chicago and they will express disgust with Emanuel. He is going after their pensions, benefits and pay. The teachers was the only ones to enough of the bullshit and stand up to Emanuel.

So pulling a PATCO is out of the question. But letting the strike go on reflects poorly on the mayor too (and as I theorized earlier, a strike is pretty much DINNER for the 527's and PAC's on the right as they can put together a nightmarish Obama + Emanuel + Chicago politics + union thugs image in an ad).

not have a National Guard he can use as scabs? Is Emanuel going to order Chicago Police Department to start arresting teachers? I'm just not sure what you think Emanuel can do, other than talk tough.

Rahm is going to have to back down.

put off because of the cities financial woes. The school year and day is being extended, so why should they work longer hours and more days for less pay. The CTU is not only striking over pay, they want a reduction of class size, they are fighting to keep the same high standard of training, which is one of the highest in the nation. That whole thing about them being the highest paid teachers in the nation they also have the highest percentage of teachers with advanced degrees in the fields that they teach.
The city isn't broke because of the teachers it is the fault of our elected officials. Privatizing the parking meters is one of the long list of bonehead moves that city has made. The company that bought the parking meters has just about made all of the money back that they paid the city. Laying off hundreds of workers that was contributing to our economy and then wondering why revenues are down. What about downsizing one of the largest tourist events in Chicago to a point where not only businesses starting pulling out but people just didn't show up. Our elected officials need to take a pay cut and get their pensions reduced before they go after anybody else's.

there no more money. period.
chicago has 50 aldermen and a mayor. even if they cut theoir salarys to zero theres still no more money.
you can blame whoever you wish but THERES NO MORE MONEY

They are not going to be working "longer hours" for "less pay." That was already settled a month or two ago. Teachers will not be working longer with the new school day: previously laid off teachers will be brought in, and schools will be reinstituting things like art, music, PE ... and recess (CPS has not had recess for years!).

Second, the pay raise is not at issue here, according to the union itself. The 16% raise has been offered and pretty much accepted.

There are two issues that have not been agreed to. One involves the teacher evaluations, though that too was already agreed to in March and is now in state law. The teachers had a hand in negotiating the form of the evaluations, but now I guess they are not happy with some aspects.

That leaves the final issue, which is the callback of the laid-off teachers. This is a complicated process, but as I understand it, it is whether the new positions are filled on a first-fired/first-hired basis, or whether, as the district has proposed, they get first interview, but principals have some control over their hires (depending on the school's needs and focus for filling the extra time.)

So no, they are not striking over pay.

that is the only reason that the can legally strike. I was just going after the talking point that Rahm Emanuel threw out and the poster I was responded to regurgitated.

It was an offer of 3% this year and 2% for each of the next 3 years. Somehow the district thought they could fool the public by claiming they had offered 16%.

They also aren't striking over pay. There are a multitude of issues. They are asking for wrap around services, equal facilities in all the schools and a curriculum that addresses the needs of the children with less emphasis on high stakes testing.

You need to do your homework before jumping to conclusions and endorsing union busting.

I don't care the union. . .I support ALL union actions!

Are students required to pass the state tests to graduate?
This to me is the biggest problem with Chicago's position...not the money.

In a nearby school district, several years ago that district began requiring
students to pass the state tests to graduate. Et voila, magic! They have
met AYP every year, year in, year out, since that decision (the decision
was made right after their first year of not meeting AYP). Accountability
from those who must produce the results; what an 'original' idea.

We have a huge issue in the school district my husband works in because the
students are not required to pass the state tests to graduate. These are
inner city students; almost all of them qualify for lunch/breakfast.
They come from really rough home backgrounds. I subbed there a year
myself. Here's what happens since there is no accountability whatsoever
placed upon the students for the test results: they are sick, sick, sick and
tired of many weeks of tests, year in, year out. They are bored, restless,
and angry about both the testing, and their issues at home. So some
of the students entertain themselves by using the test answer sheets
to try to draw pictures with the circles they fill in. Some just fill in the
letter 'c' for every answer, etc. One of the biggest issues is getting them
to answer the open-ended questions.....many don't even try. Now of course
all the teachers are well aware of this behavior, and they do all they can from
Day One each year to try to encourage the required behaviors to pass the test.
They would stand on their heads if that would work, but nothing helps enough...
you reach some students, but not enough, and the student culture to do this
stuff has grown stronger over the years as the testing and prepping for testing
days have continued to increase to crazy levels. There is over one full month
of test days, plus about the same preparing them for the tests, over the course
of the year.

So, how in the world can a district discipline or fire teachers for test results?
The tests, at this point, are not reflecting what students can do nor what
they can learn.

How would taking actions against the teachers improve the test results?

Also, in this district, the students have come to realize THEY rule the schools,
not the administration, which pretty much lets the students get away with
anything. When they realize the damage they can do to a teacher by not
completing the state tests, this will just become their latest sport.

If I was a parent in Chicago, I'd be out there on the picket line with the teachers.

I'm sure that as a parent you want your kid to have a fighting chance at a fundamental education. When schools are underfunded and classrooms have too many students do you really think your kid is getting an education?

You should stop thinking of your child as a victim of giants. One of those giants is fighting for your child, and your child will benefit far more if the teachers win.