# Chicago Teachers Union threatening a strike **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 4, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425 "2015-12-04T17:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/61 "2015-12-14T18:48:53Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > The bastards have authorized a strike. This won’t end well for the CTU. > > [http://www.ctunet.com/blog/ctu-strike-authorization-96-5-percent-yes](http://www.ctunet.com/blog/ctu-strike-authorization-96-5-percent-yes) > > Reducing standardized testing? Hell no. Sorry, but you’ll actually need to teach hard facts , not math appreciation or such nonsense . > > Again the Teachers’ Union is sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. Homelessness ? Immigration policy? And by the way , unemployment isn’t at crisis level. It’s at 5% , the natural rate of unemployment. > > Restorative justice programs? Um no, how about spending time teaching and abandoning the social justice warrior nonsense. > > There’s going to be a lot of pissed off taxpayers in this city should this strike threat be any more than saber rattling. dale42, I’m sorry but what experience do you have regarding this issue that gives you any credibility on knowing what the hell you’re talking about? Clearly you have no clue what the issues with the current level of standardized testing are. Clearly you have no idea that homelessness and immigration are relevant topics in CPS. I work at a CPS school. I’m not a teacher, but I am in the teacher’s union, and will be going on strike if the day comes, like I did the last time. We have a good number of homeless students and students with real immigration issues affecting their families and their performance in school. You strike me as someone that hasn’t set foot in a school in a long time and doesn’t seem to even know any teachers to even ask what its all about. So tell us what background and experience you have on education, and teachers, and union activities that should make us care what your opinion is on these matters? Do you have any teachers in your family you can ask? Maybe someone you care about that is involved in education can get through to you? I don’t know. For instance, have you any idea what the board’s starting negotiating position is for the new contract? If you had a clue you’d understand why there’s really no choice but to go forward the way things are. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/62 "2015-12-14T20:05:33Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > What the union says or does is none of your business unless you are a member. As a resident/taxpayer in Chicago, it most certainly IS his business. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/63 "2015-12-14T20:16:31Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > As a resident/taxpayer in Chicago, it most certainly IS his business. Well then maybe he should take a little time to inform himself of what is actually going on if the issue is so important to him. All I see is furious anger surrounding a complete ignorance of the topic. Referring to 96% of chicago teachers as bastards? Does he know a single teacher? Does he even have any kids in school, let alone a CPS school? Has he ever set foot in a CPS school? Where is his strong opinion coming from? It sure isn’t from any actual facts. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/64 "2015-12-14T22:22:45Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > As a resident/taxpayer in Chicago, it most certainly IS his business. BULLSHIT. His business is what his taxes pay for, yes. So when it comes to the contract that is negotiated with the teachers, he can complain about the school board’s decisions regarding that contract and what the school board accepts in it. What the union does is none of his business. The union is not the school board. He doesn’t pay taxes to the union. He’s not a member of the union. None of his damn business. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/65 "2015-12-14T22:29:12Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > As a resident/taxpayer in Chicago, it most certainly IS his business. I’m not getting the source of his rage. Parties in negotiations often ask for things other people don’t think they should get. Hell, I’m dismayed at some of the player contracts in pro sports. But this OP really seems upset about the Teacher Union’s agenda. Most of the things they ask for are not going to cost a taxpayer more than higher wages, but he’s not complaining about that (in fact, he wants them to stick to such issues). ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/66 "2015-12-15T05:28:06Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > BULLSHIT. > > His business is what his taxes pay for, yes. So when it comes to the contract that is negotiated with the teachers, he can complain about the school board’s decisions regarding that contract and what the school board accepts in it. > > What the union does is none of his business. The union is not the school board. He doesn’t pay taxes to the union. He’s not a member of the union. > > None of his damn business. BULLSHIT yourself. Public school teachers work for us, not the other way around. We all have a say, not just the school board. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/67 "2015-12-15T05:50:24Z")
I read the strike declaration at the link, and I have to say that they sound like reasonable demands on the most part. I’d want to see the details on things like proper staffing levels and class sizes, but most of their complaints seem to be about incompetence at higher levels of government and refusing to address the needs imposed on the schools by the condition of the city, new immigrants, etc. These sound like real issues worth addressing, to me. And given that this is Chicago, an inept/corrupt/indifferent civic government wouldn’t surprise me at all. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/68 "2015-12-15T06:11:01Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I read the strike declaration at the link, and I have to say that they sound like reasonable demands on the most part. I’d want to see the details on things like proper staffing levels and class sizes, but most of their complaints seem to be about incompetence at higher levels of government and refusing to address the needs imposed on the schools by the condition of the city, new immigrants, etc. > > These sound like real issues worth addressing, to me. And given that this is Chicago, an inept/corrupt/indifferent civic government wouldn’t surprise me at all. Was it back when Obama was involved? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/69 "2015-12-15T13:10:51Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Was it back when Obama was involved? It was back when Obama was born. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/70 "2015-12-15T13:51:28Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Was it back when Obama was involved? 😕 Obama was never part of the government of Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/71 "2015-12-15T14:52:04Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > BULLSHIT yourself. Public school teachers work for us, not the other way around. We all have a say, not just the school board. Teachers, yes, teachers unions, no. The union doesn’t work for you, it works for the teachers. My point was that you have a say in what the school board does, because they do work for you. Your say certainly extends to whatever the school board negotiates with the teachers. But you have no business telling the union what it should do. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/72 "2015-12-15T15:04:53Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > BULLSHIT yourself. Public school teachers work for us, not the other way around. We all have a say, not just the school board. We all have a say in the negotiation process. We don’t all have a say in the union’s internal deliberations. They can _ask_ for whatever they want. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/73 "2015-12-15T21:52:39Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Again the Teachers’ Union is sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. Homelessness ? Immigration policy? And by the way , unemployment isn’t at crisis level. It’s at 5% , the natural rate of unemployment. So teaching a kid who lives on the streets or hasn’t eaten isn’t a teacher union issue? So teaching a kid who is illegal and in fear of deportation (theirs or family) or working with families that don’t trust schools for fear of getting on the INS radar is not a union issue? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/74 "2015-12-15T21:55:29Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > BULLSHIT yourself. Public school teachers work for us, not the other way around. We all have a say, not just the school board. BULLfuckingSHIT I don’t work for YOU!!! You could argue I work for the principal, the superintendent, the school board, or even the state. Actually, I work for my students - NOT YOU!!! ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/75 "2015-12-16T00:59:50Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > And by the way , unemployment isn’t at crisis level. It’s at 5% , the natural rate of unemployment. I mean, really? You said that? The rate of unemployment in Chicago is, to nobody’s surprise, higher than the nationwide 5% rate. And the rate in the poorer, urban areas of Chicago is even higher than that, definitely at crisis levels. You are sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong - because you’re not a member of the Chicago teacher’s union - AND in places you don’t seem to understand. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/76 "2015-12-17T05:59:59Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > BULLfuckingSHIT > I don’t work for YOU!!! > You could argue I work for the principal, the superintendent, the school board, or even the state. Actually, I work for my students - NOT YOU!!! The citizens ARE the state. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/77 "2015-12-17T15:07:38Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > The citizens ARE the state. So citizens may address the school board, or their elected officials if they have complaints about the school system. Just like any civic issue a private citizen has issues with. Doesn’t mean that Saint Cad literally “works for” them. What does that have to do with the union though anyway? Non members do not have a say in what the union chooses to do. Do you agree with this or not? That is what is being argued here. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/78 "2015-12-17T15:11:48Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > The citizens ARE the state. Cool, so I can go to a school and tell teachers what to do? And I can fire my kid’s teacher if she doesn’t give my kid As and Bs! I wish I had known about this earlier. Also, I now declare myself in charge of the teacher’s union. I demand massive pay cuts for teachers (and a corresponding tax cut for me). ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/79 "2015-12-17T15:32:34Z")
I see you have taken advantage of the Christmas specials on straw men. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425/80 "2015-12-17T15:35:04Z")
Well, what do you want him to say? **D’Anconia** ’s argument that the public should have some say in how public employee _unions_ are run (simply because the members are public employees) is moronic. That’s completely different from saying the public should have some say in how the public institutions that employee those people are run. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-teachers-union-threatening-a-strike/739425.md?page=5)