Thousands jam Loop streets protesting attacks on public schools, Board of Education budget cuts
At least 5,000 teachers, students and families took the streets of downtown Chicago to send a message to Mayor Daley and Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman that we won't accept his fuzzy math, nor the layoffs and class size increases he's proposed. The massive march and rallies (there were several stops) took place on the afternoon of May 25, 2010. Educators and families in the schools are furious that Huberman has proposed raising official class sizes from 30 to 35. This would result in thousands of teachers losing their positions and a significant decline in the quality of education that teachers could provide. These threats are clearly meant to pressure teachers into giving up the 4 percent raises promised in our contract, on top of increased health insurance deductions permitted by contract loopholes.
Part of the crowd estimated by Substance reporters to be as high as 10,000 people jam Clark St. in Chicago during the massive protests against the attacks on public education by the administration of Mayor Richard M. Daley. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.Clark Street became a sea of red shirts and signs demanding that the Board of Education stop treating students "like sardines." Hand-made posters also attacked the proposed cuts to World Language and Bilingual Education as well as targeting Daley's TIF coffers. The most popular chant on the march was simply "Save Our Schools", but the massive crowd also took up chants like "Mayor Daley we're no fools, use TIF money to save our schools." Popular refrains included, "They say cut back, we say fight back" and "Bankers got bailed out, schools got sold out."
Although the marchers demonstrated amazing unity, the event was marred by partisan maneuvering related to the June 11 CTU runoff election. As many readers know, the first round in the election resulted in two of the five slates — CORE and UPC — with the highest number of votes, but no clear majority for citywide offices. The result is a runoff for most offices and executive board positions in the 30,000-member union.
That second vote scheduled to be held on June 11 will pit the incumbent's UPC (United Progressive Caucus) against Karen Lewis' CORE (Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators) for leadership of the union.
King High School Chemistry teacher Karen Lewis (above with glasses) became the front runner in the race for the presidency of the Chicago Teachers Union on May 25, just before the rally, when the CTU finally published the results of the May 21 voting for union offices in Chicago's public schools. The results showed that Lewis's CORE ticket had won the city's high school decisively in the first round of the voting. With Lewis in the crowd (above left, shaved head) is CORE's candidate for CTU recording secretary Michael Brunson. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.Leaders of community groups that form GEM (Grassroots Education Movement) held joint meetings with leaders of CORE and the current leadership of the CTU. Yet, CORE activists allege that the agreed logistics were not carried out by Stewart and the Sergeants-at-Arms who were charged with leading the march.
CORE Co-chair Jackson Potter told one reporter, "We met two times in the last two weeks, and we struggled through some issues [to reach agreements], but eventually, the union leadership pulled out of virtually all those agreements..." While the CTU's official representatives had argued that there be no rally addressing the crowd, Stewart led an "impromptu" rally in front of TV cameras at 125 South Clark Street without allowing any opportunity for CORE speakers. CTU leadership had also agreed to hold a joint press conference but reneged on that agreement, as well.
The crowd marches around Chicago's City Hall. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.Ironically, Stewart's watchword was "Unity": "United we stand, divided we beg," quipped the current CTU President. Like her dozens of "informational meetings" in schools across the city these past weeks, Marilyn Stewart used a "non-partisan" forum for self-promotion. She made no acknowledgment that the initiative for the protest, as well as a great deal of the mobilization, came from CORE members.
CORE members had fanned out across the city in the weeks leading up to this event, combining their campaign for union offices with promoting the rally. They stuffed teachers' mailboxes with nearly 30,000 full-color posters that the caucus had designed and purchased to inform members about untapped CPS funds and to promote the rally. The CTU faxed delegates and sent emails as promotion.
CORE and other activists within the Chicago Teachers Union spend part of their time during the May 25 marches and rallies discussing union politics. Above (left to right) Ted Hajiharis, Linda Porter, and Jackson Potter. Hajiharis and Porter ran for CTU President in the recent five-way race and are now out of the race for the June 11 runoffs, which will be between the incumbent Marilyn Stewart and CORE candidate Karen Lewis. Linda Porter and her CSDU caucus endorsed CORE immediately after learning of the preliminary voting results showing that CSDU was running behind. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.Despite the maneuvering of the current CTU leadership at the rally, the sentiment of thousands of marchers clearly was unity — and power. The crowd seemed tireless as they marched from CPS headquarters up to the County Building and back again. Their shouts and cheers echoed off the skyscraper walls as marchers took the streets. One rumor has it that Mayor Daley himself was delayed from leaving City Hall by the multitudes who'd stopped traffic. One can only imagine what "Daleyisms" he might have muttered under his breath.
This reporter came away from the protest exhilarated — not only by the excitement of confronting the Mayor, Huberman, and the school board, but by a sense of power and unity one could scarcely guess had lain dormant in this union of 30,000 educators. Does this action portend a reawakening among Chicago's teachers and a revival of the CTU? Let's hope so.
Without specifying the Chicago Transit Authority cronies that Ron Huberman brought into the school system at a cost of more than $10 million a year ago, teachers knew that the city's massive bureaucracy was not only incompetent without any knowledge of the schools, but also expensive at a time when teachers are facing huge class size increases and other cuts. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.The crowds were estimated at between 5,000 and 10,000 people, according to Substance reporters and photographers who covered different parts of the lengthy protests. Most of the protesters were public school teachers and students. They jammed Chicago's Loop between City Hall, the State of Illinois building, and the headquarters of the Chicago Board of Education.
The march and rallies took place at various locations in downtown Chicago between 4:00 p.m. and as late as 6:00 p.m.
The march and rallies, which were organized by the Chicago Teachers Union and various community and union groups, including CORE (the Caucus of Rank and File Educators), resulted in police blocking several city streets between Randolph and Clark streets (north of City Hall at the Thompson State of Illinois Building) to City Hall (on Washington St. south of City Hall, where a large crowd filled the street for an impromptu rally) to the headquarters of the Chicago Public Schools at 125 S. Clark St., four blocks south of City Hall. At CPS, speakers demanded the ouster of schools CEO Ron Huberman and denounced his budget numbers as lies.
Buses were organized by local schools and (some) by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Substance reporter John Kugler arrived at the site early to get photographs of the police preparations. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.At one point, according to witnesses who spoke with Substance, Mayor Richard M. Daley's limosine was stuck in traffic because of the protests, which he was trying to avoid and ignore.
Comments:
By: Anon Muse
Does the article really need to be so slanted?
I was there last night and I saw a lot more CORE buttons than I did UPC, and frankly, I think yesterday should have not been about supportine a caucus but supporting our union. I may not suipport Marilyn, but I feel that as the current union president, it is not only apropriate but also her duty to speak out at such an event, as I would expect a Ms. Lewis to do so if she becomes the head of the Union. The article makes it seem like last night was about CORE and the work that they did, but it was about the union and fighting for jobs. Printing an article in this sort of baised fashion only increases the MO that CORE members put CORE ahead of the union, and quite frankly, that is the exact reason people get so angry at Marilyn. I just wish that the writer as well as this paper could make a bit of an attempt to be nuetral in the reporting of events. And yes, I am posting anonymously because I really have no interest in expressing my views and being blacklisted by any cauces that I happen to disgree with. If this is a problem, then delete my comment as well as the use of my freedom of speech rights.
By: chgotchr
Substance is the paper of the opposition
Substance is the paper of the opposition. One would expect the paper to be slanted. George and the other writers make no attempt to be neutral because, well, they are not.
By: Danielle from CORE
Slanted
If it was really slanted, it would be printed on glossy paper with 44 pictures of Karen Lewis and be delivered to every CTU teacher and, after a delay, eventually to all retired teachers. It would praise Karen as if every action she did was perfect and criticize anyone who didn't agree with what she did. There would be no mention of any of the caucuses and take credit for everything any teacher did, even with the support of people Karen kicked out of the union and eventually take him out of a leadership position... oh, wait...
By: xian from CORE
Dissent
I hope people will continue to critique CORE as this process moves on. Dissent helps us all improve.
The story was both--4,000 community members led by teachers to fight for a fair, well funded education system and the fact that the union should have been doing this before now.
It certainly wasn't just about CORE, and it's also perfectly reasonable for people to want to inform and be informed about the process that created something positive. That's how we empower each other and grow. After all, let's be real--does anyone believe that the rally happens if it was just left up to our current leadership?
By: Jesse Sharkey
CORE buttons at May 25th Rally
There is a difference between unity and unanimity. As for the purpose of the 25th, CORE was in complete unity with the aims of the rally--Save Our Schools, Stop the Cuts, Show the Power of United Teachers. That is why CORE made 30,000 flyers for the event, and put forward two slogans at the event: "Save our Schools" and "If we pull together we can win."
The argument that appears here that CORE is putting itself ahead of the union is wrong. We are in an election campaign that has involved hundreds or even thousands of teachers debating which way forward, meeting to discuss what kind of union we want. This open debate has not shown conformity. There are different ideas about the best way to make a strong union. I think the turnout at the rally was so inspiring, not IN SPITE of this discussion, but BECAUSE of this discussion and debate.
By: Garth Liebhaber
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but...
I don't think Anon Muse's post should be deleted, and I'm sorry he feels afraid of being blacklisted by the opposition caucuses. Speaking for CORE, that's not how we want people to feel.
I think that this is a good moment to review the myth of "objective reporting." "Objective reporting is a myth perpetuated by the corporate press to minimize activist reporting as "biased" and therefore without merit. The two most important questions to ask are 1.)Are the claims supported by factual evidence? and 2.) Are vital facts being left out?
As many people saw, or rather, didn't see, the mainstream corporate press was guilty of this in their reporting of the rally. It's not that they lie, so much as leaving out the whole truth, if they cover the event at all.
Now, was this article biased? Definitely. Nate, like the human being he is, with a viewpoint, comes from a certain perspective- A CORE perspective. Were his claims based upon factual evidence? I think so. Did he interpret the factual evidence and provide analysis? Yes, he did. Is that wrong? Did that take away from "objective reporting"? Well, just like Nate's analysis, that's up for argument, and thus Anon's comment, and the other comments in turn.
Let's keep a few additional things in mind. All of the caucuses except for Marilyn's UPC caucus has supplied Substance with articles on their progress in the campaign. The UPC has also refused to provide a press person so that substance reporters can ask questions or verify claims.
If the UPC wanted to submit articles to Substance, from what I understand, they are welcome to. As long as they are based upon factual evidence. But therein seems to lie a problem...
By: kugler
The Fact is That
Stewart and UPC manipulated the event in many ways. I was there and spoke with police officers who gave me information to back my statement. I also saw and documented what stewart did and did not do.
I refused to write up the story last night because i did not want to be labeled "anti-union" by the UPC hacks. What i saw was disappointing to me that a union president would waste an opportunity that she had yesterday with so many people that came out yesterday. Let me just say between yesterdays rally and the student rally a few weeks ago(both of which i covered from beginning to end), the students were more organized than yesterday and had better press coverage(of their issues) as a result.
please use your name when posting here so we can have an honest discussion.
John Kugler
kuglerjohn@comcast.net
By: Theresa D. Daniels
"Marilyn's" Rally Disorganized
Marilyn Stewart took over the rally spurning the ideas of CORE for community speakers and speakers from other caucuses, and then she completely failed to organize it for maximum effect. It looked like very random massings of people in different locations marching in very random routes. It was hard to hear Marilyn speaking at 125 Clark CPS headquarters' door towards the end and impossible in the other locations. There was no literature from the CTU for us to hand out to the public and press showing the convincing arguments we have for our positions. That is because Marilyn has done no work of that nature to fight the cuts. When she speaks at the board, she seems to choose to have no info that convincingly combats the cuts. The students from Kelly HS did a wonderful presentation with political raps, chants, and hip-hop that I'm surprised the press ignored--well, in Chicago, I shouldn't be surprised. The rally was to be non-partisan, but--surprise, surprise--United Progressive Party t-shirts and buttons were being worn by the same people who would chant "It's not about the caucus; it's about the cause" at the CORE people like me passing out literature.
By: Michael E. Brunson
For the love of our Union...
Because I have five fingers on one hand I need not get confused and think that I have 5 hands. There is such a thing as unity-in-diversity: it’s called a “Union”. It is a tribute to the democratic spirit of our Union that it does display a certain amount of creative tension. New ideas and more effective solutions can flow from this. We need not let this tension degenerate into conflict and disunity.
I believe a more effective show of unity at the Rally would have been to let members from all the caucuses (and some of the teachers themselves) speak on issues that so deeply affect us all. We all oppose the same things. We all have the same goals and interests. As educators, I think we should eagerly embrace a model of democracy and free speech. I myself prefer dialogue to monologue (and polylogue above all). This rally was not about grandstanding, it was about all of us.
Michael E.Brunson
CORE Slate candidate for Recording Secretary
By: Anon Muse
Pot, it's kettle. Black is on line 1
I was there and saw a lot more CORE things than UPC. So I think core was using the event as political.
And in regard to the paper, call it subtance blog if you want it to be slanted, but as long as you call it substance news AND criticise the major papers for being slanted, then inharently the paper is hypocritical.
By: George N. Schmidt
Hypocrites, cowards, and democracy
I'm laughing out loud as I write this, because we're letting this off brand "Muse" muse, while everyone else is out here in our own names. There is a cool scene from "Battle of Algiers" in which one of the leaders what I guess you'd call the "opposition" responds at a press event (a day before the French torture him to death) to a reporter's question about using bombs in public places.
The answer was basically: We'll swap out women carrying bombs (this was before the days of suicide bombs) for your jet planes dropping napalm.
Wednesday afternoon, as I was returning to the Board chambers for the second part of the Board of Education meeting (the Board goes into executive session, then returns a couple of hours later), I ran into Ros Rossi, Azim Ahmed, and Linda Lutton, who were coming out of the elevator.
I though I had missed the end of the meeting, but they laughed and told me they had just gotten out of an exclusive briefing on "Culture of Calm" that Ron Huberman had invited them to (exclusively; Substance had six reporters and photographers at the meeting, but Monique didn't invite us...).
They didn't stay for the rest of the meeting, which resumed an hour later. During which CPS approved that contract to Sarah Duncan's University of Chicago thingy -- and also approved 82 Warning Resolutions...
The greatest number in history, by far.
But, as you know, the "news" of the week from CPS wasn't the sit-in on Clark St. on May 25, the dozens of complaints at the Board on May 26, or those 82 "Warning Resolutions" that were approved by unanimous vote of the seven members of the Chicago Board of Education at around 5:30 p.m. on May 26.
The "news" was the massive preacher patronage going out from the "Culture of Calm" $30 million second year, for "mentoring" by men and women of the cloth (and a bunch of kids who wound up unemployed after getting Barack Obama elected) and, of course, the fact that "Culture of Calm" is a success because Ron Huberman took a Deep Dive (his lovely phrase, not mine) into six schools, thereby saving several Chicago teenagers from gun deaths.
When the Chicago Sun-Times went bankrupt, we were one of the largest shareholders. Somehow, they didn't ask us what they wanted to do, but when one of Daley's biggest union busting privatization crazed buddies took over the Sun-Times (using, for the most part, somebody else's money) that wasn't much "news" either (except the part about how the Sun-Times would continue publishing "objective" reports).
We tried to get our hands on an "objective" newspaper, but sadly failed. So now you can rest assured that every morning, the former Bright One will bring you Ron Huberman's version of CPS reality, while we continue to publish the news here (with lots of cool photos) that Anony Muse will try to ignore or dismiss as propaganda.
By: Tracy Barrientos
Elementary Teacher
Interestingly enough, the 10 pm news gave only 15-20 seconds to this event. It came from Channel 5, after a longer piece highlighting Mayor Daley vowing not to raise taxes and explaining how city employees were taking furlough days to help reduce budget deficits. If you blinked you would have missed the news on the rally entirely. All you might have seen was a thin crowd walking around City Hall and Marilyn Stewart's press conference rather than the massive never ending crowd blocking the streets!