[OccupyCU] Fw: Query about sponsoring a C-U solidarity forum with Chicago Teachers Union speakers

Thu Aug 9 02:22:16 UTC 2012

Comrades, see below the original letter from Steven Ashby asking for Champaign 
Urbana community to host a Chicago Teachers Forum......please read his letter 
way, way below....Also read the growing list of cosponsors attached & below....
Would your organization be willing to cosponsor, which simply means:
	* your organization's name would be listed with the other cosponsors on the 
event announcements
	* your leaders would attend 
	* encourage your members to attend
Even if your goals are not DIRECTLY involved with labor issues, you may find the 
Chicago Teachers Union mobilizing methods to be helpful to your activists!
Gene Vanderport & Germaine Light

Cosponsor List 
Chicago Teachers Union Forum

Central Illinois Jobs With Justice:  The Mother Jones Chapter
UIUC Campus Labor Coalition
Graduate Employees Union (GEO)/IFT/AFT
Champaign Federation of Teachers/IFT/AFT
Campus Faculty Association
Danville Education Association/IEA/NEA
Region 9 IEA/NEA
Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace & Justice

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "Ashby, Steven" <skashby at illinois.edu>
To: "McGuire, James B" <jbmcguir at illinois.edu>; Stephanie Seawell 
<stephseawell at gmail.com>; "Lewis, Margaret A" <mlewis1 at illinois.edu>
Cc: james barrett <jrbarret at uiuc.edu>; Jim McGuire <jimmcgu at comcast.net>; 
"Fields, A Belden" <a-fields at illinois.edu>; "Oberdeck, Kathryn J" 
<kjo at illinois.edu>; "Miller, Dorinda K" <dkmiller at illinois.edu>; Campus Labor 
Coalition <campuslabor at lists.uigeo.org>; Gene Vanderport 
<lightport at sbcglobal.net>; Dorinda Miller <dkmiller at uiuc.edu>
Sent: Tue, July 31, 2012 9:38:09 AM
Subject: Query about sponsoring a C-U solidarity forum with Chicago Teachers 
Union speakers

Hi, folks, 
This is Steven Ashby from LER.  I’m sure you’ve been following the developments 
with the Chicago Teachers Union.  I’m writing to inquire whether campus labor 
folks, and Jobs with Justice, might be interested in holding a forum with CTU 
speakers in late August. 

In brief:  The Caucus of Rank and File Educators formed four years ago to 
mobilize teachers and parents against the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Board of 
Education’s steady plans to shut down dozens of schools, fire all employees, and 
turn the buildings over to privately run but publicly funded, with no 
accountable, charter schools.  As with all privatization efforts, this was 
primarily a drive to get rid of the union and negotiated work rules.   

In June 2010 the CORE slate challenged the incumbent slate, who were pretty much 
classic business unionists, and won office.  Starting in mid 2011 they began 
planning and implementing a contract campaign to turn their top-down union into 
a bottom-up, member driven, social movement unionism union.   (LEP held classes 
and worked as consultants during this process). 

Last year under the direction of Democratic Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and 
Democratic Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, an anti-union bill, SB 7, was 
passed that mandated 75% of all CTU members must vote to authorize a strike; 
thus, those not voting were counted as “no” votes.  Supporters bragged that they 
had effectively eliminated the CTU’s right to strike as no large union could 
achieve this. 

In May 2012 the contract campaign’s success became evident when 6,000 teachers 
rallied and marched in downtown Chicago, surprising all politicians and media 
pundits. In June 2012 92% of the members turned out in a three-day vote, with 
98% of those voting authorizing the leadership to call a strike.  Subsequently 
Crain’s Business (no friend of unions) declared the CTU to be the most powerful 
union in the Chicago area. 

Throughout this process, the union has worked tirelessly with community allies, 
supported other groups’ protests, worked closely with half a dozen parents’ 
groups, and won strong support in the city.  The Mayor, who is known for 
bullying to get his way, is clearly on the defensive. 

Meanwhile, six weeks ago 110 activists came together to form the Chicago 
Teachers Solidarity Campaign to do outreach and build solidarity for the 
teachers and their union.  We have been meeting weekly; I am on the steering 
committee, and in that capacity am writing you. 

While some gains have been made in negotiations, the Board (and Mayor, who 
appoints the Board) continue to refuse to negotiate over classroom issues that 
are central to the union’s mission: lower class sizes, more social workers and 
nurses, a library and air conditioning in every school, and more art, music, 
computer, and P.E. classes. 

No one can predict labor negotiations.   But should there be a strike, there is 
the possibility that it will not be short. The last strike in 1987 lasted 19 
days.  Should that occur, it will be vital to mobilize supporters from all 
nearby cities to come to Chicago the first Saturday of the strike. (And of 
course, all are welcome to attend daily picket lines.) 

Were there a strike, it could come as soon as September 4, or in early to 
mid-September. 

The CTU has asked me to take on this assignment. I have talked to Labor Notes 
about pulling together forums featuring CTU speakers in Madison, Milwaukee, and 
Detroit.  I have talked with Chicago JwJ organizer Susan Hurley about JwJ doing 
the same in other cities.  The CTU’s transformation is an inspiring story.  
Rank-and-file teachers would be the speakers were it a weekend forum; a weekday 
forum might necessitate union staff (all of whom were teachers until two years 
ago when CORE took office) as teachers go back to work on August 20.  They might 
be accompanied by members of the Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign. 

August is of course a terrible month to do forum, but that’s what we’ve got. 
We’re looking at August 20 to 31.  Please let me know your thoughts on the 
viability of doing a forum in Champaign-Urbana. 

….in solidarity, Steven 

P.S.  If you have contacts in other cities, like Peoria, Springfield, and 
Decatur, who you think could pull together a successful forum, please ask them 
to get in touch with me. 

Prof. Steven K. AshbyFull Clinical Professor and Coordinator, Global Labor 
Studies undergraduate online program
Labor Education Program, RiceBuilding, 815 W. Van Buren #110, Chicago IL 60607
(312) 996-8733   skashby at illinois.edu    http://www.illinoislabored.org/Global 
Labor Studies:  http://go.illinois.edu/laboronlineStaley: The Fight for a New 
American Labor Movement, by Steven Ashby & C.J. Hawking  
http://www.staleybook.org/School of Labor and Employment Relations, Universityof 
Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign

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