With little notice, the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union moved the monthly House of Delegates meetings from the Plumbers Hall to the Operating Engineers Hall on 22nd and Grove. This change was much to the chagrin of delegates who depend on public transportation, needed handicapped parking (there were 6 handicapped spots), or did not arrive early enough to find parking.
Another surprise was that there were off-duty police officers working security outside the hall. These officers stopped members of all non-UPC caucuses from distributing literature on the grounds of the Union Hall. This new rule put an end to the age-old tradition of free and open leafletting inside the House of Delegates.
The theme of one message, no questions was echoed in the new microphone procedure used at the meeting. In daytime talk-show fashion, when a delegate requested the floor to exercise his or her right to speak (per Robert’s Rules of Order), he or she had to ask permission from the sargents-at-arms who held the microphones. This allowed for little debate to transpire.
During her opening speech (which took up the bulk of the meeting) the President reported items for action that were discussed at the last meeting of the Union’s Executive Board. The E-board will be pushing for the following items: stopping the age-old practice of reporting school-by-school votes in Union elections, adding language to the constitution that allows for the removal of an officer, and eliminating the position of Union Treasurer. These items were not listed on the agenda provided to the delegates, but the Parliamentarian assured the crowd that he was “sure that it would end up on the website.”
After the presidential address and a report from the Charter School Organizing Team from the AFT, at least half of the delegates left for the day.
The House did not have a quorum at that point, and the meeting was adjourned.
