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Education

Video Captures Chicago Teachers Using Students to Stage Strike Protest

Sep. 11, 2012 6:50am Jason Howerton

Chicago Teachers Union Using Students in Strike Protests

Thousands of Chicago public school teachers and their supporters march through the Loop and in front of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters on September 10, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Credit: Getty Images)

The Chicago Teachers Union is seemingly using students to help stage its strike protests, video taken by EAGnews.org indicates.

On Monday, Chicago’s teachers went on strike for the first time in 25 years, leaving nearly 400,000 students in the country’s third largest school district in academic limbo. Union and district officials were unable to reach a contract agreement over the weekend as the school district failed to satisfy teachers on issues like job security, teacher evaluations and health benefits.

With negotiations stalled, what else is there to do but rally in the streets? Police were anticipating more than 26,000 teachers and support staff to hit the picket lines early Monday. What law enforcement wasn’t counting on were the masses of students joining the teachers in protest.

The video shows crowds of students chanting and singing over the sound of beating drums and battle cries, reminiscent of an Occupy Wall Street rally.

“They are supporting the teachers, supporting the schools to be for poor people,” one charter school counselor said about the students.

One student is seen holding a sign that says “Jobs With Justice,” referring to a socialist lobbying organization. When the man behind the camera asks him if he knows what Jobs With Justice is, he replies, “no.” When asked where he got it, he said “some lady” gave it to him.

“They came down here to show support for all their teachers,” another striking teacher says in the video. According to this teacher, there were students from 7th grade all the way to high school seniors taking part in the union organized protests on Monday.

“Is it appropriate to take kids this young to protests like this?” the man operating the camera for EAGnews.com asks.

“That’s up to the parents, not up to me. But you know what, this protest cements their future so they should have a voice in this, I believe,” he replied.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel said he will work to end the strike quickly so that students can get back into the classrooms. In the meantime, it seems they will be in the streets with the teachers union.

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Comments (63)

GrayPanther
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 11:00am
Don’t expect the Progressive mayor or the Democrat controlled government to do anything “rational” to put the kids first. After all, the district has a 40% dropout rate and the graduates are poorly educated. While the classroom teacher is not totally responsible for the outcome, sure as he** the labor union representing them is not interested in “good education”. The kids are the excuse for millions of dues dollars going to support DemocRATS and keep the cycle going. Time for a REAL president to come down hard on poor school performance and hold unions responsible.

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LauraMarie
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 10:56am
Only 22 percent of Chicago 4th-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading in 2011. Only 21 percent of these same kids were operating at or above grade-level in math. Eighth graders fared little better: 23 percent were proficient or advanced in reading and 21 percent had acceptable math scores.

Yet Chicago teachers are, as noted above, some of the highest paid educators in America, averaging $76,000 in salary alone. Benefits easily add tens of thousands more to the total package, making for an amazingly lucrative package for producing tragically horrible results.

This union is absolutely shameful and they deserved to be replaced by people who can actually teach the students and achieve results!

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- JRook
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 11:13am
  What’s shameful is your superficial presentation and inference regarding the data. Without information regarding their length of service, educational and whether you are including supervisors in the your reference to an average salary is meaningless. Virtually every state supreme court has long since ruled that school funding based on real estate taxes, which create disproportionate levels of school funding, is unconstitutional. All public schools should have relatively the same per student spending amounts. It is interesting to note that tuition at most parochial high schools is several thousand dollars above the per student spending at high schools in both the suburbs and the inner city. In my community the school tax levy has been voted down for 7 years straight. So while there was probably some waste in the school system 7 years ago, it has long since been squeezed out. It is sad to see the same Republican government funding strategies being employed in the schools. Cut taxes while you raise fees on everything. It is shameful that students who participate in sports and the band have to pay for the now “privilege” of representing their school. Good teachers should be paid as much as possible, bad teachers should be removed. Class sizes should be doubled with good teachers being supported by support personnel that can work with the slower students. Moving schools to for public corporations is the worst solution possible.
  
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- Merry52277
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 11:47am
  @Jrook This strike has nothing to do with the students. This strike is about the threat of teachers losing their tenure and protections against being fired for poor performance. The teachers are terrified that they will actually have to show results or lose their jobs. The fact that they are guaranteed ridiculous raises every year regardless of performance infuriates me. Most Americans if they can even find a job are forced to take low paying part-time jobs, least of all getting guaranteed raises every year. I am so tired of these over payed under-worked union members in all sectors whining about how they are being mistreated. They don’t live in reality and it’s time for them to wake up and face it.
  
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- Cincinnasty
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 12:39pm
  Perfectly said.
  
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- The_Cabrito_Goat
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 3:20pm
  “We just care about kids! Which is why we are striking and leaving them in unsupervised classrooms while we intimidate their parents for more money.”
  
  Report this comment
LauraMarie
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 10:52am
Only 22 percent of Chicago 4th-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading in 2011. Only 21 percent of these same kids were operating at or above grade-level in math. Eighth graders fared little better: 23 percent were proficient or advanced in reading and 21 percent had acceptable math scores.

Yet Chicago teachers are some of the highest paid educators in America, averaging $76,000 in salary alone. Benefits easily add tens of thousands more to the total package, making for an amazingly lucrative package for producing tragically horrible results.

They should be fired for these horrible results. They are absolutely shamefu!

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- The_Cabrito_Goat
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 3:23pm
  Utah and New York have almost identical test scores. But what’s the difference?
  
  Utah spends the least on public education
  
  New York spends the most.
  
  Report this comment
needmoinfo
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 10:49am
Teachers in Chicago make too much money for a nine month job. Obama bankrolled unions and gets kickbacks to campaign funds. That has to end. People who make a lot less need some attention to their needs too. As usual Obama lining his own pockets. Obama and Emanuel sure know how to play Chicago style.
Teachers who strike during school months should lose tenure. We can get better, younger, cheaper replacements who will be happy to start for half the money instead of working in low pay jobs waiting for the old goats to die off or retire.

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EagleEastcoast
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 10:38am
What should happen is the Mayor/School officials, terminate the teachers from their employment, and open the slots to any state certified teacher in or out of IL to come to the effected areas and fill those vacated slots for 50K a year. I can guarantee that the slots vacated would be filled within days.

Good Day Sir,

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- joesteel
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 3:15pm
  50K is higher than the old starting salary, and is actually pretty close to the rescinded 4% raised salary that was already cut. Just to let you know.
  
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sndrman
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 10:22am
GREECE you think? chicago doesn’t have money but the unions want more….don’t you get it? the teachers get more money unions get more dues,obama(dnc) gets more money, just in time for election, and the circle goes on and on…………….oh wait a minute do the children count in this?….another diversion for obama to exploit……

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pizzaman87
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 10:00am
For everyday that the union is on strike they need to offer them 5% cut accross the board and Increass emplyoee controbution of health care by 1% untill the budget is balance. If they want smaller class size than they take even bigger pay cut. when the average teacher in chicago make more than $70,000 a year without benifect with a billion dollar deficit who can you expect to get more money. oh also smaller class size which mean more money to spend that they don’t have because you have to pay more teachers.

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caffinated1
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 9:58am
@leadthemtothelight

Right on with that, just like reagan did with the air traffic controllers. That would be a sight to see, there’d be bitching and moaning to extremes. I would however pay to see something like that.

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andrewpeter05
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 9:29am
Oh look at all the useful idiots exploiting the children!

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JACKTHETOAD
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 9:24am
They’ll be using them for human shields next.

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leasecommander
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 9:23am
I don’t support the teachers on this one because of two things, number one, the teachers record is awful, a 40% dropout rate and only 15% of 4th graders reading on grade level. You don’t go asking for a raise when your performance is poor.
Secondly, public employees shouldn’t have collective bargaining rights, they should have binding arbitration only, the agreement with the teacher union should have never allowed collective bargaining, it is against the public and causes them problems, when private companies have a strike, it mainly hurts the company not the public.

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- USA DJ
  Posted on September 12, 2012 at 12:31am
  You are so right! The teachers should not have collective bargaining rights. This is nothing more than a pay to play scheme to line the pockets of the liberals so they can retain power in this state. I think any parent should receive a tax credit so they can pay for their child to go to charter or private schools. I live in Illinois and we have higher taxes than most every state in the country. I have a family of 5 and earn about 54k a year. You can’t go to the grocery store without spending a hundred dollars for a little of nothing. I am tired of support the lifestyle of these people who have the poorest performance and no consideration for the children and their education at all. These people are commiting social terrorism and holding students, parents and taxpayers hostage. Where is Ronald Reagan when you need him?
  
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RightThinking1
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 9:10am
The strike is all about using children. That they should physically use them is no surprise at all. The OWS crowd did that too. These are the people who use red diapers on their babies and send their kids to socialist summer camps.
BTW, here is my favorite striker picture: https://twitter.com/iEricKohn/status/245277020009943040/photo/1

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Hiswill
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 8:42am
These teachers are some of the highest paid in the nation and they were offered a 16 % raise over 4 years. Sounds like a good deal to me. I understand the graduation rate in these school districts is 50%. I’d say they really arn’t worth what they are getting paid and parents should be given more choices in where their kids can go to school. Charter schools and private schools have a much higher graduation rate..

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joesteel
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 8:36am
Dear lord you people have no idea how ridiculous you sound. The students just wanted to show up to support their teachers. I had several students ask me if they were allowed to protest, but I told them they shouldn’t because I work on the westside and wasn’t sure how safe it was. With the GOP saying how they’re “standing with the students and parents,” the media is just trying to cover up that the vast majority of students and parents (at least in the truly under performing schools) are in support of the teachers. There is no conspiracy, it’s just a ****** situation that Rahm thought he could bully his way through.

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- tommytruck
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 8:56am
  BULL – I’m from Chicago. Went to school in Chicago. I’m glad I did the rest of my growing up in Texas. Chicago schools are crap. As much as I would like to claim Chicago as a part of my life story, I avoid it as much as possible. Why? The common every day thuggery we see before us, now. I am entirely unsuprised about this situation.
  
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- Gonzo
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 9:46am
  You teachers sound so pathetic. Moaning about a 4% pay increase every year for the next four years and teacher evaluations. You don’t like evaluations of your performance? Good thing you work for government, you wouldn’t last a year in the private sector.
  
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- joesteel
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 3:06pm
  OK, let’s clear this up. Most teachers aren’t too concerned about the pay raises. At least most of the teachers I work with, I can’t speak for everyone, and I’ll choose not to make unfounded generalizations. But what issues are legally strikable? Ones primarily related to compensation. So guess what the media focuses on. What we don’t like is the evaluation process, I’ll agree with that. But when you really get into it, most teachers are actually ok with a merit based system, just one not linked directly to standardized tests and normed across the district. Here’s why:
  
  Imagine two CPS classrooms. Both have teachers with 5 years of experience, similar educational backgrounds, no familial commitments, etc. Now teacher 1 works at a school where all of the students come from middle class families. Most of the students see their parents on a regular basis, get regular meals, have a bed to sleep in. Classes are reasonably sized, and though the books aren’t in the best of condition, they at least have air conditioning. Teacher number two works in a school where most of his students receive free or reduced price lunch. Parents often have to work multiple jobs, students see them much less than optimal, and a lot of them get their only meal of the day at school. Where are the standardized test scores going to be better?
  
  Now, I’m not making excuses for these schools, I’m just going to point out one thing:
  
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- joesteel
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 3:13pm
  When job security and pay are tied to these test scores, where are the teachers going to choose to teach? If you could potentially lose your job by putting in twice the effort it would take you to keep your job elsewhere, then are you really going to stick around? There isn’t a chance in hell. Now who are those students left with? Absolutely nobody. And if you claim charters which boast high numbers, you also have to look at the fact that they can (and do) kick out any students who they feel it’s necessary to kick out. These are the students who truly need the best teachers, and the corporate movement of education is really leaving them by the wayside. Now I understand that most of the people who read this don’t understand these situations, so I really don’t blame you. In fact, if the me that existed 5 years ago saw what was going on, I would probably said the same exact thing. The difference is that iI took my uninformed 18 year old self and got informed before calling to crucify the people who are responsible for educating this nation’s youth. I highly suggest y’all do the same thing.
  
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redbanshee157
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 8:32am
These teachers care so much about the children. That’s why they want more money and job security even for the crappy ones. Striking is a fine way to show the private sector just why unions are out of control. They have no problem exploiting children for the good of their own pockets.

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- Displacedsoutherner
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 9:20am
  Their behavior is typical of the union mentality in virtually all instances: you don’t work for the employer, you work for the union. The fact that these people are paid with tax dollars is irrelevant to them; the fact that they’re taxing themselves for the raise is irrelevant to them. Tell a union slug that his demands will bankrupt his employer and he blindly follows the union’s lead to the unemployment line.
  
  Job performance is not a factor in any union run shop, typically the opposite is true; the hard workers make the union slugs look bad and the misguided go-getter is told to slow down or else.
  
  If BHO wins the strikes will stop because an executive order will require employers to acquiesce to a union’s demands, there will be some sham review board to approve the process, but the unions will be firmly in the driver’s seat. Look at the hoops Boeing had to go through to relocate a plant in a right-to-work state, and Obama still had to worry about re-election at that point.
  
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SAMADI-SOUL-CRUSHER
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 8:15am
Of course they use their students. After all public schools are training our children to be
useful idiots for the government!!

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securitymaninyulee
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:42am
Fire them

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- tiki886
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:32pm
  Ripley: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
  
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AJAYW
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:34am
Fire them all- Then start hireing, if they want their jobs back apply for it and be tested if the standards aren’t met don’t rehire them. Right to Work law would take care of it.

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- securitymaninyulee
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:41am
  Well said ,and I totaly agree. it wont happen because all of this is staged for the election.
  
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subsailor
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:33am
This is just a show. Obama will come in in a few days and “solve” the problem and get the teachers back to work. This is union payback for the Obama campaign. What idiots in their right minds would turn down a 16 % raise? This is all planned to help Obama get reelected.

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- IOWAGIR
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 8:12am
  I totaly agree with you! They are greedy. 16% is pretty good compared to what the average raise is nation wide I would think. Guess I should look into it. I know it’s better than what most of my co-workers and friends have been getting lately. Plus it’s not even a year round job! I am sure there has to be a large pool of qualified and unemployed teachers that can take their places. You are lucky to have a job period. Quit using the kids. Shame on you.
  
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Mapache
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:29am
I have seen it first hand in southern Florida where teachers have offered students EXTRA CREDIT for participating in teacher led demonstrations. Of course the kids still can’t read but they certainly learn activism.

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momrules
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:29am
One of the signs says…..Our students deserve the best…………

This strike is not about the students. It is about the unions, more pay and benefits for the teaches means more money/power for the unions.

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beekeeper
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:20am
“in the sheetes” with the teachers?! Interesting choice of images.

This worked well in Wisconsin, so why wouldn’t the Chicago teachers do the same – it helps keep the cameras on the strikes. Funny thing is, outside Chicago they appear to be overpaid ($76K/yr avg), under-worked (protesting because their work day is no longer shortest of any major city in US), and ineffective (have you seen the stats on their ‘performance’?)… Like Wisconsin, this will not end well. The city can’t afford what the teachers want in pay/benefits and the kids deserve better than they’ve been getting from the teachers.

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Stiggs
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:03am
Now isn’t that a lovely (insert sarcasm) lesson being taught by the union > we will use your future earnings to cover our benefits so march with us so you can pay it later in your lives. Then again, none of them can vote yet…but that’s just my opinion.

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:00am
One more usage of the progressives example of “mass indoctrination.” They are teaching the kids that the unions support their future, and thus are needed to ‘fight the machine.’ This echoes of the various mob mentality of the Occupy movements, and do not forget that the same union leadership here with the teachers, are the same ones behind Occupy.

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- loriann12
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:03am
  So why don’t they just overthrow this administration, who is their boss? Government employees should not be able to strike, period. And using kids is unconscienable…however you spell that (it’s before coffee).
  
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- piper60
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:06am
  The students had better support their teachers. Grades don’t o in until end of the semester-and lefties have long memories-and vengeful quirks
  
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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on September 11, 2012 at 7:54am
  @Loriann
  
  The reason they choose not to overthrow the current administration is they are IN LEAGUE with OBAMA. The leadership of many unions have shown and declared their intention to topple the Republic from within and to impose a communist system over the land.
  
  Step by step this is what they have been helping Obama and the extreme Democrats in doing. What matters now is how far they will go when the union leaders decide Obama has not done enough quickly enough.
  
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Leadthemtothelight
Posted on September 11, 2012 at 6:56am
This strike is an outrage….these teachers should be fired and new ones hired. Any teachers labor union that cannot recognize the current financial **** storm we are living in is just a shame.

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