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Why support a union?

David R. Stone - June 23, 2011

As politicians across the nation cut back on public spending for education and seek to limit collective bargaining rights, the Chicago Teachers Union has fought back. Yet there is a vocal minority among Chicago teachers who are questioning the union leaders. Below are my answers to some of their questions — and some advice for a newcomer to union activism.

part of the protest organized by the Chicago Teachers Union and other unions and community groups outside the Chicago Board of Education on June 22, 2011, one week after the Board claimed it could not afford to fund the four percent raise for its union workers. The protest, which number more than 1,200, circled the block outside the school board at 125 S. Clark St. in Chicago, then went west and south to the Board of Trade (above), where teachers protested the failure of Chicago's wealthiest corporations and individuals to pay their fair share of taxes. Substance photo by Graham Hill. Background: One teacher posted a positive comment on an online discussion board for employees of the Chicago Board of Education (known as the CPS First Class Employee Wide Area). She wrote that the rally yesterday (Wednesday 6/22) was her first time participating in any such public protest. She was pleased that the rally outside the Board of Education headquarters was so well organized, and gratified by the encouraging comments she heard from the general public. (They expressed support for teachers while the mayor's newly appointed Board was inside, voting to revoke teachers' contracted salary increase. Apparently the mayor failed to turn the public against unionized teachers, despite a media blitz where he had accused teachers of giving students "the shaft" by not agreeing to work longer hours.) Yet the new teacher/protester wondered why there was so little media coverage of the protest.

Another teacher responded that, yes the rally was well organized, but the union would do better to spend its money on direct services to members. He has been attacking the union leadership online for weeks, and now claims that many teachers are contacting him for advice on how to avoid paying their union dues.

Below is the response I posted, plus a new paragraph I have added for publication elsewhere, not on a forum maintained by the Board of Ed.

Dear Ms. W---,

Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey (above left) talks to the more than 1,000 protesters who went from the Board of Education to the Board of Trade on June 22, 2011. Substance photo by Graham Hill. I'm glad you had a good time at the march & rally at Board of Ed headquarters, and I hope your report saying what a positive experience it was will encourage more people to come out for future rallies, such as a National Educators Conference to Fight Back for Public Education to be held on Wednesday, July 6, and a "people's forum" on the city budget to be held on Thursday, July 7. Yet you raise an important question:

-Why didn't the rally get more media coverage?

and you imply another important question:

-What else can we do?

These questions deserve serious thought, and I hope my comments help spark more discussion.

I will start by rejecting the ideas of Mr. R---, who implies that

(1) the rally was a waste of resources, and

(2) people should stop paying their union dues.

I will also slightly question your wording, Ms. W---, when you state, " the television and newspapers are staying away from the march on Wednesday and maybe only slightly acknowledging the fact it occurred.."

The second part is true -- not much acknowledgment -- but they didn't stay away. There were lots of cameras, microphones and reporters' notepads, and I saw representatives from just about every Chicago media outlet. In the end, most of them reported on the actions taken by the Board inside, and then many of them added a quick mention that there was a protest outside.

Why? A benign explanation is that they used their honest judgment of what is news, and maybe they believe that the Board's vote will make a difference in Chicago, while teacher protests won't. A more cynical explanation is that most of the major media outlets have corporate owners who want to push a message of "cut public spending and cut taxes no matter what" and suppress any pro-union message. Such bias has been especially evident in the editorials of the Chicago Tribune and the "news" coverage offered by Fox.

So what do we do about it?

(1) We can change the news judgment by showing that teacher protests can make a difference. This might be done by getting more and more people involved, so that the protests can't be ignored. It may involve civil disobedience by some of the protesters. (At another rally a week ago, some union members allowed themselves to be arrested for blocking a street, as a way of showing how committed they are to the cause.)

(2) Rallies can communicate directly to the public, without relying on the mainstream media to deliver the message for us. All the pedestrians, motorists and passengers plus the people in the buildings on those blocks downtown saw our signs and heard our chants, and some of them took our leaflets to read. We even may have won some sympathy from the police officers who surrounded us, and the Board employees who walked past us (except for that large woman who bumped you.) (3) We can communicate to the public in other ways, as well. Start by talking with all your friends and neighbors. If you wish, join in handing out fliers at public places such as CTA el stops every Friday. Write letters to the editor and comments on blogs.

(4) Stay aware of pending legislation and contact your lawmakers when crucial bills come up.

(5) Stay in touch with your own school's union delegate. There may be issues affecting just your school or a few schools in the neighborhood, and quick action can make a difference before decisions are implemented. Sometimes you may need to call on help from the whole union, and other allies. In this fashion, we have saved a number of neighborhood schools that the Board wanted to shut down.

Many teachers organized by school to come to the June 22 march and rally. Above, teachers who identified themselves as from Scammon Elementary School show their militancy at the Board of Trade. Substance photo by Graham Hill. (6) Proudly proclaim your union membership, and encourage all your colleagues to support the union, too. Our voice is stronger when we can honestly claim to have the "power of 30,000."

(7) Pay your union dues. Some of the money goes for the website, email blasts, newspaper, etc., that keep us informed. Some goes for field reps who can answer your questions about the contract and who can represent you if you ever file a grievance or are called in for a disciplinary hearing. Some money provides liability insurance in case you ever are sued by a student or parent. Some goes to support lawsuits that force the Board to respect our rights and honor our contract. Some will support research to aid in the upcoming contract negotiations. And probably some of the money will be wasted -- even a relatively small organization (and the union's budget is tiny compared to the Board of Ed's) won't be 100% efficient. But if you agree with Mr. R---'s idea that the way to eliminate any such waste is to not pay anything to the union, then you probably would also agree with our enemies that the way to eliminate bad teachers is to not pay anything for public education.

(8) [This is what I did NOT post on the Board of Ed employee discussion area] Be prepared to go on strike. Ultimately, that is what "the power of 30,000" means. The media will pay attention to our rallies when they are big enough, because they suggest that we have enough people fighting for our rights that we might actually shut down the schools. Of course, for such a strike to be successful, we ultimately will need public support. That is why our slogans focused on fairness and other sources of funding (e.g., "Students before bankers!") That is why I wore a button with one of our union's old (but still valid) slogans: "Good working conditions are good learning conditions." We are fighting not just for ourselves, but for our students and for ordinary Chicagoans. If the people who pay the taxes and vote for the politicians understand this, they will support us if we do go on strike. They might put enough public pressure on the politicians and the Board of Ed so we get what we are asking for without a strike. But if we don't stay united, the Board will keep chipping away at our contract and our jobs until there is nothing left.

The rally was a good first step. Let's build on it!

[David R. Stone is a teacher, Hirsch Metro High School, Chicago Public Schools, and is joining the Substance staff in June 2011].

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