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You have heard the news by now that the strike is over.
I was lecturing in Chattanooga and meeting with leaders
of the community from 2 pm until now. My brother
tweeted to ask why I was behind the curve. Oops,
offline.
Pundits and commentators will be poring over the Deep
Meaning of all this for weeks and months to come. There
will be countless articles about Lessons Learned.
Personally, I think we have a good idea already about
why the teachers went on strike. No, it wasn't greed or
money. The compensation piece was more or less settled
before the strike. Pundits and talk-show hosts who take
home hundreds of thousands a year will express outrage
that teachers - teachers! - might make $80,000. I ask
you, who adds more social value - a first grade teacher
in Chicago or a talk show host on national radio or TV?
Why did they strike? After 17 years of reform and
disrespect, they were fed up with the bullying. They
were tired of the non-educators and politicians telling
them how to teach and imposing their remedies. Reform
after reform, and children in Chicago still don't have
the rich curriculum, the facilities, and the social
services they need.
They were sick of the incessant school closings. They
were sick of seeing charter schools open that get
wildly uneven results yet are praised to the skies by
Arne Duncan and now Rahm Emanuel. They knew that the
charter schools are non-union and that the Mayor will
use them to break the union.
In the end, the union pitted itself against Rahm
Emanuel, Arne Duncan, Chicago's business and civic
leadership, and the Race to the Top. It took on the
most powerful forces in the city, and yes, even
President Obama, who remained neutral.
And by taking a stand, by uniting to resist the power
elite, these teachers discovered they were strong. They
had been downtrodden and disrespected, but no longer.
They put on their red T-shirts and commanded the
attention of the nation and the admiration of millions
of teachers. Powerless no more, they showed that unity
made them strong. 98% voted to authorize the strike,
and 98% voted to end it.
The union was fortunate in having Karen Lewis as its
president. She was one of them. She had taught
chemistry in the Chicago public schools for more than
20 years. She is one of the few - perhaps the only -
union leader in the nation who is Nationally Board
Certified, a mark of her excellence as a teacher.
Not only is she a teacher through and through, she is a
graduate of Dartmouth. She is neither impressed nor
intimidated by the elites who flaunt their Ivy League
credentials. Hers are as good as theirs. Maybe better.
She is a woman of valor.
Karen Lewis gave courage to her members, and they gave
courage to her.
The strike is one of the few weapons available to the
powerless. Without the union, the teachers would have
been ignored, and the politicians would be free to keep
on reforming them again and again and again.
The strike transformed the teachers from powerless to
powerful.
The teachers said, "Enough is enough. With us, not to
us."
Regardless of the terms of the contract, the teachers
won.
Thank you, CTU.
