Chicago teachers prepared to abandon their students on Sept. 10

CHICAGO – Let there be no more doubt about the self-serving nature of teachers unions.

The Chicago Teachers Union has set a strike date of Sept. 10, despite the fact that the students just started a new academic year and the school district is struggling financially.

Chicago Public Schools are nearly $1 billion in debt. Mayor Rahm Emanuel wanted kids to get more crucial instruction time, so he lengthened the school day this year. But the city also agreed to accept the expense of calling back more than 400 furloughed teachers so existing teachers wouldn’t have to work longer days to cover the extra instruction time.

Yet the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union is still demanding an outrageous raise. Their initial target was an unheard of 30 percent, and they rejected a third party recommendation for an 18 percent increase. They obviously don’t care that the district is nearly broke, and may have to severely curtail student services to make ends meet.

“We have said from the beginning that we are tired of being bullied, belittled and betrayed,” CTU President Karen Lewis was quoted as saying in a report by the Huffington Post.

Who are the bullies, Ms. Lewis? The city is not threatening to lock you out of the classrooms. The students are not threatening to boycott. Everyone else is willing to keep school open, and keep kids learning, while contract negotiations continue.

You are the ones walking away, interrupting the education process for thousands of underprivileged children who desperately need every minute of school they can get. You’re engaging in a massive shakedown to get what you want, and you don’t care who you hurt in the process.

That’s what bullies do.

 

EAGnews has the full article

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