Is the most powerful teachers union in America overreaching?
On March 19th, primary-election voters in Chicago were asked to vote on a ballot measure that would have raised the transfer tax on properties worth over $1m to generate money for homelessness relief. The measure was backed by the city’s entire progressive establishment, but was defeated by a “No” vote. The Chicago Teachers Union heavily promoted the measure, putting in $400,000 and the organizing work of its 28,000 members to get a Yes vote. The defeat of the “Bring Chicago Home” measure was crushing for Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, who had heavily promoted it. But it is perhaps an even bigger defeat for his former employer, the Chicago Teachers Union (ctu), which put $400,000 and the organizing work of its 28,000 members into getting a Yes vote. In the past decade or so, the union has become one of the most powerful in the country by adopting a model of radical left-wing political organizing. From 2022 to the end of last year it put $2.3m into Mr Johnson’s campaign fund. Its support helped elevate Mr Johnson, previously an unknown county commissioner, into office. This year it hopes to reap the spoils—the teachers’ contract is up for renewal. But is the union overreaching?
The ctu’s transformation began over a decade ago, when Rahm Emanuel was mayor. On coming into office and discovering a huge hole in the teachers’ pension scheme, Mr Emanuel cancelled a pay rise and took a hardline approach to negotiation. In 2012 incensed teachers went on strike for the first time in 25 years. In 2013 he then began a deeply…
Source: www.economist.com
Date: 2024-03-21 09:14:11