NLG Chicago stands in solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) as it calls for a strike. The CTU’s move to strike is its last resort and has become essential in its fight for a fair contract with the Chicago Public Schools.
The CTU is up against a formidable opposition composed of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s hand-picked Chicago Board of Education and Chicago Public Schools leadership, who have demonized educators and education professionals while simultaneously engaging in a systematic and self-serving push to privatize public education. Instead of using its resources to support its teachers and provide a better education to the students in Chicago’s schools, Mayor Emmanuel and the Board of Education consistently cater to special interests and push through initiatives that benefit their own personal and political positions.
NLG Chicago and our Labor & Employment Committee (L&EC) applauds the CTU and its membership as they stand strong against the Mayor and the Board of Education and fight for dignity in what is undoubtedly one of our society’s most important professions. In doing so, the CTU provides inspiration to all across this city and across the United States who are engaged in a struggle for better working conditions and fair compensation in these difficult economic times.
Because CTU members out on the picket lines will likely face unwarranted attacks in their personal lives and in the media, the NLG Chicago L&EC encourages everyone to reach out to the educators and education professionals in their lives and offer their support. In the struggle for better public education in Chicago, their fight is our fight, and the NLG Chicago L&EC firmly stands in solidarity with the CTU and its members as they take that fight to the streets and sidewalks across Chicago.
