Chicago Teachers Union: George's tremendous legacy as a champion of labor
The Chicago Teachers Union wrote of George's "tremendous legacy as a champion of labor" on the CTU Facebook page the morning of George's death. In their personal Facebook posts, Jesse Sharkey, CTU President, and Christine Geovanis, CTU Director of Communications, both who attended the Sept. 20 visitation for George, posted the following messages.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey and George Schmidt at WTTW studios on July 10, 2012."George Schmidt — we all learned a lot from you." – Jesse Sharkey, CTU President (with photo below)
"He was a force of nature, and he's passed his passions onto literally thousands of vets, peace activists, anti-imperialists, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents and of course students. That makes the memory of his work and his commitment, his irrepressible fire in the belly, something close to immortal. And there are very few of us who can say that. George could." – Christine Geovanis, CTU Director of Communications
George and Sharon Schmidt at the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates meeting in April 2015. George was a retiree delegate, Sharon a delegate for Steinmetz High School. Photo by Jesse Sharkey.