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Reports from the NEA Convention

By Jack Gerson - February, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. July 3, 3008 The California delegation to the National Education Association Representative Assembly (NEA RA) has just voted to neither support or oppose the NEA Board of Directors recommended bylaw amendment to . . .

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Substance to report from AFT convention

By Dan Schmidt - February, 2009

Beginning this morning Substance will be providing thorough news coverage of all AFT proceedings. . . .

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Fanny packs from Chicago Teacher's Union greet AFT convention goers

By George N. Schmidt - February, 2009

Bright Red CTU fanny packs?


Honest: Fanny packs from Marilyn Stewart (and "Go Promotions")...

DATELINE CHICAGO, THE AFT. Walking into the AFT convention at Navy Pier as the American Federation of . . .

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Outgoing AFT president calls for abolition of No Child Left Behind

By George N. Schmidt - February, 2009

CHICAGO. NAVY PIER AT THE NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS. JULY 11, 2008.

In a major address to the 3,000 delegates to the national convention of the American Federation of . . .

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Barack Obama addresses the AFT Convention via satellite

By George N. Schmidt - February, 2009

[The following is a transcript of Senator Obama's speech to the American Federation of Teacher's annual convention in Chicago, delivered via satellite.]
Remarks to the 80th Convention of the American Federation of Teachers

Senator . . .

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Teacher fired for blowing the whistle on illegal strip search of 14-year-old girls at Chicago charter school

By Jim Vail - December, 2008

Could there be a cover-up between the Chicago Public Schools and one of its controversial charter schools?

At issue is what action CPS will take against officials of the Aspira Charter Schools because they . . .

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PURE debunks CPS 'new schools' claims

By Jackson Potter - December, 2008

According to Julie Woestehoeff of Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE), Chicago’s Renaissance 2010 schools severely limit parent influence in their buildings. In a separate report, PURE also challenges claims by CPS that the “Sherman . . .

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AFT met in Chicago in July 2008... American Federation of Teachers backs Obama after July snub

By Sarah Loftus - September, 2008

AFT Convention Notes…

The location of the 80th convention was the historic Navy Pier with stunning views of Lake Michigan and the beautiful city of Chicago.

After the normal chaotic first days of . . .

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July 14, 2008. American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten delivers her acceptance speech at the union’s national convention in Chicago. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.

Stewart ousts VP Ted Dallas while teachers are on vacation... CTU Purge Trial!

By George N. Schmidt - September, 2008

The only word for it was “purge.”

On August 19, 2008, after nearly two months of internal union wrangling (and court fights that are continuing), a majority of the members of the Executive Board . . .

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June 12, 2008. Members of all three dissident caucuses in the Chicago Teachers Union picketed outside the Merchandise Mart protesting the attempt by CTU President Marilyn Stewart to kick Vice President Ted Dallas out of the union. The pickets were forced to hold their protest on Wells St. at Kinzie, rather than in front of the Mary, when Marilyn Stewart demanded that Mart security refuse to all the protester, all of whom were union members, to march on Mart property (which includes that vast area on the Chicago River in front of the Mart. As the summer went on, more and more union members realized that Stewart’s plan was to eliminate Dallas from the union leadership while most union members were out of school and isolated from their union. Stewart re-scheduled the unprecedented hearings against Dallas throughout the summer despite warnings — including in court — that the CTU Constitution and By-Laws did not permit what she was attempting. On the days when Stewart scheduled Executive Board hearings against Dallas, union members and reporters were barred from the union’s expensive Merchandise Mart offices — despite the fact that the hearings were held during regular union business hours. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.

Delegates voted against the CTU budget 194-163, but Stewart said her budget 'passed'... CTU president continues lies with June budget, vote

By Theresa D. Daniels - September, 2008

In what is getting to be a habit, the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates voted against union president Marilyn Stewart on June 4, 2008, but Stewart announced she had won the vote, then adjourned . . .

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For more than a year, Marilyn Stewart (above), President of the Chicago Teachers Union, has lied about every key vote taken in the union’s House of Delegates. On August 31, 2007, she ignored the “No” votes against the contract she had negotiated with Mayor Daley’s lawyers. On June 4, 2008, the vote was against her budget. Stewart controls the people who count the votes and report the count to her, so she

Editorial: Stewartian Stupidity

By Substance Editorial Staff - September, 2008

It has now been one year since Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart lied to the union’s 31,000 members, ignored the rules of the union by refusing to count the “No” votes at the August . . .

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Editorial: Of course it’s Obama — but without illusions

By Substance Editorial Staff - September, 2008

Elsewhere in Substance, and in Substance for more than ten years going back, we have covered the terroristic reign of high-stakes testing over Chicago’s public schools. Since 2002, with the passage of “No Child Left . . .

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Editorial: 2008. Chicago. Beginnings of a mass movement in Chicago

By Substance Editorial Staff - September, 2008



Since January 1, 2008, by our imperfect count, more than 10,000 Chicagoans from all communities have risen up and protested various attacks on public education — and their children — by corporate Chicago . . .

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The Corporate Roots of NCLB

By Susan Ohanian - September, 2008

Prepared for The Peace and Justice Caucus of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Chicago, July 13, 2008, and delivered in part during the session sponsored by the Peace and Justice Caucus.


. . .

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Editor's Introduction to Sustance Ohanian's "The bi-partisan corporate and union roots of test-based 'accountability' and No Child Left Behind"

By George N. Schmidt - September, 2008

The following Substance report contains virtually all of the material that Susan Ohanian prepared for her contribution to the AFT Convention’s Peace and Justice Caucus forum on resistance. The forum, which was held on Sunday, . . .

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Susan Ohanian's Website is a wealth of information for those resisting the tyranny of high-stakes testing and No Child Left Behind

By George N. Schmidt - September, 2008

If you want to learn more about the widespread national resistance to high-stakes testing and inhuman ‘education reform’ policies, visit Susan Ohanian on her website:

www.susanohanian.org.

Susan Ohanian's Website, which is updated virtually . . .

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Scholastic 'Research'... The Scholastic 2008 Kids and Family Reading Report... Why Scholastic's Researchers Need to Read More

By Stephen Krashen - September, 2008



Scholastic recently released a survey on how much and what children are reading these days, interviewing 501 children, ages 5 to 17, and their parents or guardians from 25 cities (Scholastic, 2008).
. . .

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Ten signs your union has been hijacked by crooks

By Theresa D. Daniels - September, 2008

Ten Signs That Your Union Has Been Hijacked by Crooks. (All of which took place in the Chicago Teachers Union by June of 2008)

1. Your Union officers say no copies of their contracts . . .

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Since her May 2007 re-election, Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart (above) has ignored every vote of the House of Delegates that she disagreed with and refused to provide the union's delegates and members with financial information about how the union went from having a $5 million reserve fund to borrowing $3 million — a total loss of $8 million in three years — since she was elected CTU president in 2004. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.

PURE fails to get signatures on elected school board petition

By George N. Schmidt - September, 2008

After several months of trying, members of PURE and other groups which had supported trying to get the elected school board on the November ballot told Substance that they failed to get enough signatures.
. . .

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Sun-Times miracle makes articles without reporters

By George N. Schmidt - September, 2008

While Sun-Times stock was dropping to below 30 cents a share and people were piling on one former Sports pundit, at least one thing was continuing: the newspaper once known as The Bright One is . . .

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