Chicago Teachers’ Strike in Second Day

The strike of Chicago Public School Teachers has entered its second day. The Tribune is offering ongoing coverage, e.g. here, as is the Sun-Times. I found the Trib’s coverage less sympathetic to the teachers.

The remainder of this post will be a more-or-less disjointed collection of impressions.,

To be honest after 24 hours I’m becoming somewhat more sympathetic with the teachers. The frequently-repeated assertion that the strike was not about wages, for example. There’s quite a collection of other explanations for the strike:

Class sizes are too large, not enough social workers, not enough nurses, not enough counselors, not enough speech therapists, not enough computers, no new language-arts teachers to staff the longer school day.

Take a breath. No air conditioning, no place for students to play during recess, nobody to supervise recess, textbooks ordered and delivered too late, not enough music and art teachers, no respect.

And oh, yes, every now and then if prompted, I’d run across a teacher who would mention one of the two items that Mayor Rahm Emanuel contends are the only real issues left on the bargaining table: teacher evaluations and procedures for rehiring laid-off teachers.

I’m wary of strikes for pay, especially when those striking are already well-compensated. However, I think that striking for working conditions is just and reasonable.

I understand that teacher evaluations is a hot button. Administrators want complete discretion and so do teachers. There’s no way to square that circle. Some process must be developed that’s not completely subjective but that doesn’t over-emphasize test scores. I recognize that it’s learning that’s important rather than test scores and that emphasizing test scores over all else inevitably motivates teachers to teach the test rather than encouraging learning. I just wish that the CTU were more proactive on the issue of evaluations than they apparently have been.

I’m getting the distinct impression that the real reasons for the strike are, of all things, interpersonal problems between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Karen Lewis, head of the Chicago Teachers Union. From the Trib article:

The strike on Emanuel’s watch cuts against the narrative the mayor is trying to craft as a leader who’s a problem solver moving the city forward. Emanuel’s aggressive posture in pushing for a longer school day and year, while also cutting the pay raise teachers were supposed to get last year, galvanized the union.

It may be that Emanuel’s coarse language and brusque demeanor has alienated people unnecessarily.

The strike has compelled Mayor Emanuel to suspend his fund-raising activities on behalf of the Obama re-election campaign. That recalls to mind the questions I raised when he ran for mayor. Rahm Emanuel was co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign. He resigned that post to undertake fund-raising activities for a SuperPAC. He took a day off in the middle of negotiations with the union so that he could attend the Democratic National Convention, something I honestly cannot imagine Mayor Daley having done.

I wonder if he has time to be mayor. It’s not just a full-time job. It’s a more than full-time job.

10 comments… add one
  • I wonder if [Rahm Emanuel] has time to be mayor. It’s not just a full-time job. It’s a more than full-time job.

    Perhaps he should go on strike for better working conditions.

  • No air conditioning, no place for students to play during recess, nobody to supervise recess, textbooks ordered and delivered too late, not enough music and art teachers, no respect.

    The first two issues are about money: not enough equipment or space. Are they asking for a 16% pay raise or not? If they are then perhaps they should forgo the pay raises for improved material conditions.

    Who are they expecting to supervise recess? They can’t do that themselves? Is the recess for the teachers or for the students? Or is that (along with the request for more art and music teachers) merely a statement that they want more people like themselves to have lucrative government sinecures?

    As for the textbook issues and the respect issue, they expect those to get fixed by a strike? When has a strike ever resulted in more efficient government acquisition processes? When have overpaid under-performing groups ever achieved respect by demanding more compensation?

  • Perhaps he should go on strike for better working conditions.

    From your fingers to God’s ears.

    Look, I think that if Rahm Emanuel wants to be the mayor of Chicago, then he should do it. That’s what the voters of Chicago elected him to do. If he doesn’t want to be the mayor of Chicago or he can’t afford to be mayor of Chicago or he believes the Democratic Party needs him more elsewhere, he should step aside and let somebody else do the job. Chicago needs a mayor, not a dilettante.

  • Chicago needs a mayor, not a dilettante.

    A statement that could be adapted to so many situations….

    However, I think you are making a mistake here. I’ve learned many things from this site. One that sticks with me was your explanation of the business model of big automakers, namely that there business wasn’t selling individual cars to individuals looking to buy a car, but was instead selling significant numbers of cars to car dealerships and to fleet purchasers. It’s obvious when you hear it, but that just isn’t how people think of it. It made me re-consider business models more generally. (It also made me wonder about the Obama Administration forcing all of those car dealerships to close. They were euthanizing their customer base! WTF?)

    In this case I think you are misinterpreting the job of a politician. Emanuel’s job isn’t Mayor of Chicago. Emanuel’s job is to get himself elected or appointed to whichever position he seeks in order to help himself and his friends advance and then using those positions to do the best for himself and his friends. Running the City of Chicago, or working as a lawmaker and over-seer as a Representative of Congress, or coordinating and supervising the day-to-day activities of the President of the United States are secondary considerations, sometimes tertiary considerations. (Fund raising seems to have become an end unto itself recently.)

    Just remember to think of it that way. It won’t make the city run any better, but perhaps it will at least relieve some of your frustration with your elected leadership. Or is this realization why you’ve been sounding despondent lately?

  • In this case I think you are misinterpreting the job of a politician.

    Yes, I admit it. Understanding of the realities of politics notwithstanding, I’m a goo-goo.

    My take is that Rahm Emanuel is a Democratic party fund-raiser who’s been rewarded for his performance with a succession of safe seats. However, Congressman for the Illinois 5th Congressional District is one thing. Our needs and problems are fairly few. Mayor of Chicago is something else again. Not a job for a fund-raiser.

  • PD Shaw Link

    I believe in our school district, teachers who supervise recess get bonus pay.

    I agree w/ Icepick, these all seem like cost issues, and if, as it appears, Chicago public school teachers are among the best paid in the nation, then their salaries are a big part of the issue.

    (Not a lot of air-conditoining down here either, where the Summer can be far more disagreeable than Chicago)

  • PD, where do you live? Somehow I got you confused with the Chicago gang on this site.

  • PD Shaw Link

    Lincoln’s hometown, Springfield, of course.

  • Lincoln’s hometown, Springfield, of course.

    Springfield has a Hellmouth?

  • Drew Link

    “I’m wary of strikes for pay, especially when those striking are already well-compensated. However, I think that striking for working conditions is just and reasonable.”

    It’s a fair point. But Dave, until, as a society, we deal with the absolute hell bent destruction of values, morals and the family that liberalism has brought us, people in professions who have to deal with that family disfunctionality, are going to be pissed off.

    I think the teachers union is over reaching. But look who they vote for. It’s a self inflicted wound. They shot their………oh, never mind….

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