Karen Lewis addresses displaced teacher meeting
Displaced Chicago Public Schools teachers came to the headquarters of the Chicago Teachers Union at Chicago's Merchandise Mart on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, for updates on how the union is fighting on several fronts to help them get their jobs back.
Wearing CTU red, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis (above standing center) talks to dozens of displaced teachers at the CTU offices on September 20, 2011. Substance photo by David R. Stone.The displaced teachers, many of them veterans with years and years of service, have been facing hard times. Some lost their jobs more than a year ago under a massive wave of layoffs initiated by Ron Huberman, former Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools. Others were displaced from teaching positions this summer under the leadership of the Board’s new CEO, Jean Claude Brizard.
The union has challenged both sets of layoffs for violating teachers’ rights under the collective bargaining agreement. Union officials estimate that more than 2,000 teachers (out of total workforce of nearly 30,000) have lost their jobs. Approximately 50 attended this latest meeting — one in a continuing series of union events for displaced teachers.
Union officials told displaced teachers at the meeting about progress in individual grievances, in arbitration, in actions before the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board (IELRB), and in a class action lawsuit in federal court. They also offered the teachers advice on how to check the accuracy of their personnel files (which sometimes may require a formal Freedom of Information Act request to the Board of Education), and announced a new Yahoo chat group for displaced teachers to share information. A link to the chat group will soon be available on the union’s website, www.ctunet.com.
CTU President Karen Lewis warned that the Board of Education would try to discourage laid-off teachers with a series of delaying tactics. “Unfortunately, I cannot wave a magic wand and make the Board behave,” she said.
She said the union’s goal is “to make you whole” — including not just a return to work, but back pay, pension credits, etc. She urged the teachers to stay active, and insisted: “You cannot give up!”
She asked the assembled out-of-work teachers: “Do you want us to quit?”
“No!” they roared in response.
