All articles by Lee Sustar

SOCIALIST WORKER ANALYSIS: Chicago teachers prepare for another big battle...

[Editor's Note: The following article is reprinted with permission from Socialist Worker. Substance will be increasing our coverage of the upcoming Chicago Teachers Strike of 2016 as the days dwindle down to the October 11 . . .

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Rahm versus CTU again... '...The CTU, meanwhile, will be mobilizing its members for what already seems to be an inevitable second strike against Emanuel...'

[The following article originally appeared at Socialist Worker as ANALYSIS: LEE SUSTAR, Chicago teachers vs. Rahm: Round two... Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is demanding cutbacks and concessions, but teachers are pushing back amid a wider . . .

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ELECTION LESSONS 2015... Electing Mayor Austerity... Both candidates accepted the 'austerity' narrative.... 'Garc�a has spent much of his time on the campaign trail lowering the expectations of working class voters...'

[We waited until after the April 7, 2015 voting for Chicago's mayor (and 18 aldermen) before we published the following. "Electing Mayor Austerity -- Lee Sustar explains why austerity will rule in Chicago, no matter . . .

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Socialist Worker: A pro labor mayor for Chicago?

[Editor's Note: The following analysis was published by socialistworker on March 26, 2015 and is published here at substancenews.net with permission. We hope that our readers will take the time to comment on the challenging . . .

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CTU House of Delegates to meet Nov. 5... Political controversy flares up in the CTU

[Editor's Note: The following article originally appeared at Socialist Worker and is reprinted here at substancenews.net with permission of the author. For those who wish to consult the original article and additional analysis by the . . .

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Karen Lewis candidacy was critically examined in September Socialist Worker analysis

[Editor's Note: Just before Karen Lewis came down with what was described as a "serious illness" and withdrew her candidacy for mayor, Socialist Worker published an analysis of the Lewis candidacy, which at the time . . .

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From enemy to lesser evil? Why did the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates vote overwhelmingly to endorse a labor-bashing Democratic governor for re-election?

[Editor's Note: Within the past 60 days, we have received at least two emails per day from Pat Quinn's campaign offices, usually with a return address from some person we've never met. Yesterday, the emails . . .

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Are the national teachers unions really ready to make a comeback against the neoliberal attacks on public education and unions?

[Editor's Note. The article below comes out as "Can the teachers' unions come back?" on July 10, 2014 at Socialist Worker -- http://socialistworker.org/2014/07/10/can-teachers-unions-rebound -- as Chicago's delegates head to Los Angeles for the convention of . . .

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ANALYSIS: What's behind the tough talk from the American Federation of Teachers and Randi Weingarten?

THE AMERICAN Federation of Teachers (AFT) leadership is straining to balance growing unrest among union members and their strategy of making concessions in the name of "partnership." That effort was on display at the union's . . .

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New York teachers boycott test May 1 after half of high school's parents opt out their children

The following was circulated on April 29, 2014 and I'm sharing it. The news is that 30 teachers at a high school in Brooklyn will be boycotting the city assessment this week, just as their . . .

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RESPECT slate wins six of 20 executive board seats, narrowly misses winning presidency... Seattle teacher union insurgents almost victorious in hotly contested union election

In union elections that concluded May 8, the opposition RESPECT slate came within a whisker of capturing the top position in the Seattle Education Association, with MAP test boycott leader Jesse Hagopian coming just 45 . . .

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A Fork in the Road for Teacher Unions?

[Editor's Note: The following article originally appeared at the socialistworker web site and is reprinted here with permission. Published by the International Socialist Organization.
Material on the socialistwork Web site is licensed by SocialistWorker.org, under . . .

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Building fighting teacher unions

[Editor's Noted: The following article originally appeared on the Website "Socialist Worker" on August 8, 2008. It is reprinted here with permission. http://socialistworker.org /2013 /08/08/building- fighting-teachers-unions... George N. Schmidt, Editor].



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AFT message to corporate reformers? 'Let the union help you fire 'bad teachers'...Another American Federation of Teachers surrender to corporate 'education reform'

[Editor's Note: The following article originally appeared on August 21, 2013 at Socialist Worker and is reprinted here with permission. The URL for this article's original publication is: http://socialistworker.org/2013/08/21/another-aft-surrender. That URL will get readers to . . .

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Chicago Teachers Union leads challenge to Rahm Emanuel as school closings are approved by Rahm's appointed school board

[Editor's Note: The following article was published on June 5, 2013 at socialistworker.com. Lee Sustar looks at the challenges facing the Chicago Teachers Union after Rahm Emanuel carried out the largest-ever round of school . . .

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'Student based budgeting' another way of destroying real public schools... Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is ready for the next stage in his cruel war on public education--and students and teachers will pay the price

After Claiming that closing 50 elementary schools will improve the quality of public education, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials are preparing the way for cuts throughout the system that will lead to teacher layoffs, overcrowded . . .

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Will Chicago teachers keep moving forward? A look at the key issues in Chicago Teachers Union elections set for May 17. May 7, 2013

[Editor's Note: The following analysis was published on May 7, 2013 at Socialist Worker and is reprinted here with permission. Lee Sustar is also working on a book about the Chicago Teachers Union and the . . .

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CTU election on May 17, 2013 pits CORE against the 'Coalition to Save Our Union'... The issue is who has held the line for Chicago teachers during a year when American Federation of Teachers locals have been in retreat across the USA

[Editor's Note: The following article, "Holding the line for Chicago teachers... Lee Sustar compares the record of the Chicago Teachers Union leadership, running for re-election in a May 17 vote, with its counterparts in other . . .

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Analysis of the CTU election and the elections in the other big city teacher union locals

[Editor's Note: The following article was published at Socialist Worker on April 18, 2013 (http://socialistworker.org/ 2013/04/18/the-future-of-teacher-unionism) and is published here with permission of the writer and Socialist Worker. Originally published by the International Socialist Organization. . . .

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What's happening in Chicago

[Editor's Note: The following article was originally published at Socialist Worker and is reprinted here with permission. Lee Sustar has been covering the Chicago Public Schools for several years. His articles have analyzed the Chicago . . .

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STRIKEWATCH ANALYSIS: What Chicago's teachers won

[Editor's Note: The following article originally appeared in Socialist Worker, September 26, 2012. http://socialistworker.org/2012/09/26/what-the-ctu-accomplished. This analysis is reprinted here with permission of both Socialist Worker and the reporter, who is a CPS parent. Published by . . .

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'See a bully, stop a bully. It's a campaign, right?'... How can the Chicago Teachers Union win?

[Editor's note: The following article originally was published by Socialist Worker as ANALYSIS: LEE SUSTAR How can the Chicago Teachers Union win?, Lee Sustar looks at the prospects for a possible Chicago Teachers Union strike. . . .

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Rahm blinks first in battle with teachers.... CTU wins big round in fight against Chicago administration

[Editor's note: The following news analysis was originally published on Social Worker and is reprinted here with permission, http://socialistworker.org/2012/07/26/rahm-blinks-first. Published by the International Socialist Organization. Material on the Socialist Worker Web site is licensed by . . .

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AFT REPORTS: 'What we're seeing in Detroit, Philadelphia and Cleveland is nothing less than the controlled demolition of public education...' Can the American Federation of Teachers Meet the Challenge?

[Editor's note: Socialist worker (socialistworker.org) published the following analysis on its website just prior to the beginning of the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers in Detroit this weekend. Lee Sustar looks at . . .

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Emanuel is in for a fight... More coverage of the May 23 rallies and marches

6,000 CTU Chicago Education Workers Rally For Fight For A Contract. The CTU sends a message
Tony Rawker and Lee Sustar report on a huge Chicago Teachers Union rally and march as the fight with . . .

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The Struggle for Education Justice In Chicago

THE COMING battle between the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will have a national impact, and it will be fought over the issues of race, class and social justice — or . . .

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How to 'Topple the Pyramid...' Same struggle, same fight... A look at the dynamics of the unions' support for the Occupy movement.

[Editor's Note: The following analysis is reprinted from Socialist Worker under a Substance reciprocity agreement. Additional articles on the "Occupy" movement and its relationship to the unions can be found at the Socialist Worker website]. . . .

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Rahm versus CTU... Round One

[The following news analysis originally appeared at socialistworker.com and is reprinted here under out reciprocity agreement. Lee Sustar is a regular contributor to Socials Worker and the parent of a child attending a Chicago public . . .

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SOCIALIST WORKER ANALYSIS:

[Editor's Note: The following article appeared today (June 30, 2011) at Socialist Worker (http://socialistworker.org/2011/06/30/latest-showdown-for-teachers) and is reprinted here under a reciprocal agreement between Substance and Socialist Worker.






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CTU moves to fight union busting legislation

[Substance Editor's Note: The following was published on May 5, 2011 by Socialist Worker and is reprinted here at Substance under our reciprocity agreement. Teachers who want to locate the complete original can do so . . .

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CORE facing internal dissent over response to union-busting legislation in Illinois... A crisis for teacher union reformers?

[Editor's Note: The following article appeared on April 21, 2011 at Socialist Worker and is reprinted here under a reciprocity arrangement with both the reporter and Socialist Worker. The Socialist Worker website updates its . . .

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Discussion continues on general strike... Do or die in Wisconsin

[Editor's Note: the following originally appeared on March 10, 2011, at Socialist Worker and was forwarded to us by the reporter. We are hoping that Substance reporters will be back in Madison soon and . . .

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MADISON WISCONSIN: Wisconsin unions turn up the heat

[Editor's note: The following article Lee Sustar reports from Madison, Wisconsin, on the inspiring mobilization to stop the most draconian anti-union legislation in decades from being imposed in Wisconsin. Originally published at Socialist Worker on . . .

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FROM MADISON IN STRUGGLE... Class War in Wisconsin. Socialist Worker updates on February 18

[The following article originally appeared at Socialist Worker and is reprinted here by joint agreement exactly as it was published. http://socialistworker.org /2011/02/18/class-war-in-wisconsin. Substance's editors would appreciate hearing additional comments on this and other articles . . .

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LESSER EVILISM RISES BEFORE ELECTION: From labor's hope to lesser evil?

[Editor's Note: The following article was provided to Substance by colleage Lee Sustar and is republished here with the permission of Socialist Worker, where it first appeared. Socialist Worker notes: Readers are welcome to share . . .

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A look at the Baltimore teachers' rejection of the union contract... Teachers in the crosshairs

[Editor's Note: The following analysis originally appeared on the Socialist Worker website at http://socialist worker.org/2010/10/26/teachers-in-the-crosshairs and is reprinted here with permission. Previous reports about the Baltimore union contract and some of the other issues discussed . . .

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A Sense of Unease... Teachers' Unions at the Crossroads

[Substance Editor's Note and Media Watch: Throughout the recent convention of the American Federation of Teachers in Seattle (July 7 - July 12, 2010), Substance reporters sat with a handful of other reporters at the . . .

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