Back in the fun-filled early days of the teachers’ strike—before Mayor Emanuel brought in his lawyers and everyone decided to go back to school—it was still possible to get a laugh or two out of the comments of some of our local politicians. Like First Ward alderman Joe Moreno, who on September 10 went on Fox News to discuss public education—god help us all.
Well, in the aftermath of Sunday’s union meeting and Tuesday’s decision to end the strike, I think it’s time to give everyone—starting with Alderman Moreno—a little lesson about the politics of the Chicago Teachers Union.
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For starters, the union isn’t some alien creature that’s brainwashed the poor unsuspecting teachers of Chicago and forced them to go on strike. No way. For better or worse, the teachers are the union—hence its name. And it was the teachers of Chicago—the same teachers Moreno and the mayor say they love—who overwhelmingly voted to go on strike.
Still, given the recent history of the Chicago Teachers Union, it’s not surprising that President Karen Lewis and union delegates initially backed off on ratifying the deal, thus extending the strike two more days.
As the union president through most of the 1990s, Reece had a cozy relationship with Mayor Daley and former schools CEO Paul Vallas. In 1998 Reece cut a deal with Vallas in which the teachers got a pay hike of roughly 7 percent over three years. But the rank and file thought the raise was too cheap. Reece rammed the deal through the House of Delegates.
All the while the Tribune was whacking teachers over the head with an editorial version of a two-by-four: “Delegates from the Chicago Teachers Union on Wednesday night rejected the most generous contract agreement they’ve seen in more than a decade. What were they thinking? Back here on Earth, in the midst of a struggling economy, most private-sector workers are settling for far more modest wage increases—if they’ve kept their jobs. Private-sector employees also are shouldering a share of higher and higher costs for health care, which continue to soar.”
Ah, yes, Chicago liberals. They say they love democracy—until it gets a little messy. Then it’s time to bring back Mussolini.
