Chicago teachers elect reform union slate by a landslide -- in the heart of arne duncan-land

[Hannah Bell]

CORE, led by Karen Lewis, wins CTU election in landslide, with Lewis defeating Marilyn Stewart 12,080 to 8,326

Karen Lewis has been elected president of the Chicago Teachers Union, and CORE has won the leadership of the 30,000-member CTU by a landslide. Lewis, a Martin Luther King Jr. High School Chemistry teacher, headed the slate of candidates from the caucus called CORE (the Caucus of Rank and File Educators) and won a landslide victory on June 11, 2010, in the hotly contested Chicago Teachers Union runoff election.

CORE not only won the top four offices in the union, but the other nine citywide offices, and all of the vice presidencies for high schools (six) and elementary schools (17). By the time the final vote counts were announced in the early hours of June 12, it was clear that CORE had completely defeated the United Progressive Caucus (UPC) and the six-year CTU president Marilyn Stewart.

http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1472§ion=Article


Background on CORE:

Shock waves in the CTU

IF REFORMERS in the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) win union elections June 11, it will shake up City Hall, rattle teachers unions--and provide a rebuke to President Barack Obama's education policy.

Formed in 2008 in response to the union's failure to stand up to school closings ordered by then-Chicago Public Schools CEO, Arne Duncan, CORE mobilized not only rank-and-file teachers, but parents and community organizations against an agenda that centered on closing "failing" schools, expanding privately run charter schools and grinding down job protections for teachers.

As Jesse Sharkey, CORE's candidate for CTU vice president, put it:

"The winds of changes are blowing in the Chicago Public Schools. This school system is Arne Duncan's hometown. For the last 10 years, we've suffered under many of the same initiatives that are now being brought to every school system in the country.

This election result demonstrates that teachers are not willing to sit by passively and watch our public schools get turned over to private operators, see programs get cut to the bone, and see schools become test factories."

http://socialistworker.org/2010/05/25/shock-waves-in-the-ctu

[old mark]

1. Let this be a harbinger of things to come - tougher unions taking a little

control.

Thanks for the post.

rec.

mark

[Hannah Bell]

2. i hope so. the threat of a good example

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Are you listening, NYC UFT?

Well, no.

But you probably will be.

[blindpig]

4. k&r

[donco6]

5. Hallelujah! n/t

[DailyGrind51]

6. Get the schools out from under Daley's thumb!

[flyarm]

8. and all the corporate whores that want to take our public schools away to make them

their own private $$$$$$$$$$ profit centers!

[flyarm]

7. This needs to be done all over the country to keep the corporate whores out of our public schools!

this is a very strong message..and should be heard nationwide! By parents and teachers and communities alike!

[Stevepol]

9. Glad they didn't use voting machines. K&R

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Woohoo

Way to go CORE!!

[Hannah Bell]

11. k

[suffragette]

12. This shows so much

Both in terms of the terrible results of Duncan's policies and that these can be countered at a grass roots level.

From http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/10/870687/-Winds-of-Change-in-Chicago

"CORE's success is we are a big-tent, grass-roots group led democratically from the bottom up," Lewis said when election results were released. "That was why CORE began in the first place--to activate and energize all members in running the union. It also turned out to be a winning campaign strategy."

As CORE co-chair Jackson Potter put it, "Our message isn't that we're going to fight for you, but with you."

[Hannah Bell]

13. "It’s a stunning rebuke of business as usual. "

Among CORE’s issues were: Capping CTU officer and staff salaries to the average teacher salary prorated over 12 months, limiting standardized tests and banning the use of test results to punish, label or denigrate schools, students or teachers. CORE has promised to work to repeal mayoral control of schools and restore the right to collectively bargain class sizes, counselor loads and stop school closings and reconstitutions.

But beyond their specific platform, teachers supported CORE’s aggressive response, so untypical of so many teacher union leaders today, to the teacher bashing, union bashing politics of politicians at the local, state and national level, from Democrats and Republicans both.

Among CORE’s issues were: Capping CTU officer and staff salaries to the average teacher salary prorated over 12 months, limiting standardized tests and banning the use of test results to punish, label or denigrate schools, students or teachers. CORE has promised to work to repeal mayoral control of schools and restore the right to collectively bargain class sizes, counselor loads and stop school closings and reconstitutions.

But beyond their specific platform, teachers supported CORE’s aggressive response, so untypical of so many teacher union leaders today, to the teacher bashing, union bashing politics of politicians at the local, state and national level, from Democrats and Republicans both.

http://preaprez.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/chicago-teachers-elect-new-leadership-sending-a-message-to-teacher-union-leadership-everywhere/

[suffragette]

14. Yes and a great example of bringing the community and educators together

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/10/870687/-Winds-of-Change-in-Chicago
With only a fraction of the resources of the incumbents, CORE has been able to raise its profile, not only thanks to big meetings and protests against school closures, but also through systematic organizing in the communities most affected by the slash-and-burn methods used by Duncan and his successor, Schools CEO Ron Huberman.

For example, CORE has worked with the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), a group initiated by parents and community members in schools that are under-resourced or tagged as "failing."

[Hannah Bell]

15. i noticed that connection to gem too. hopefully more upsets coming & more press on what's going on.

Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) Takes Over Chicago Teachers Union

CORE began only two years ago as a caucus of teachers determined to push the union to take a more aggressive and adversarial posture on the issues of privatization, school closures, and to push the union to work more closely with community and parents organizations as a way to protect and improve public schools. CORE's leadership has been especially critical of Ron Huberman and Mayor Daley, indicating that the go-along, get-along posture of the CTU over the last decade will be coming to an end.

http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2010/06/12/caucus-of-rank-and-file-educators-core-takes-over-chicago-teachers-union/

[suffragette]

16. Agree

I hope districts across the nation take notice and notes. Or better yet, consult with CORE and GEM on how to do this.

[undeterred]

17. AMEN.

:thumbsup:

[Starry Messenger]

18. This is beautiful.

Go CORE!