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We Are One Rally. Chicago, Illinois. Saturday, April 9, 2011.

Thousands of Illinoisans rallied in downtown Chicago on Saturday, April 9th, to show solidarity with workers in Wisconsin and other states, to renew the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King who gave his life 43 years ago in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, and to stand up for the American middle class against political and corporate-funded attacks.

The April 9th rally included a program of speeches and entertainment in Daley Plaza (50 W Washington) at 1:00 p.m., as well as several marches of workers to the rally site (one from the Hyatt Regency at Stetson at Wacker, and another from the James R. Thompson Center at 100 W Randolph.

The demonstration at Hyatt Regency was a show of solidarity with the workers at Hyatt who have been struggling for justice for years. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) as well as union members from other Illinois Federation of Teacher (IFT) and Illinois Education Association (IEA) affiliates have joined the Hyatt workers to protest against the owners of Hyatt who have bankrolled legislation that intend to weaken teacher unions and hurt students – legislation that includes the privatization of Chicago’s public schools.

The Chicago rally will be the largest of more than a dozen such “We Are One” events held throughout Illinois. There were “We Are One” rallies in Bloomington, Carbondale, Champaign, Collinsville, Decatur, Gurnee, Kankakee, Ottawa, Peoria, Rock Island, Rockford and Springfield. They are part of the national “We Are One” campaign by the AFL-CIO and allied groups.

The week of April 4 through 9 was chosen in honor of Dr. King, who was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while in Memphis to march with sanitation workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Dr. King gave his life for the right of workers to bargain collectively for a better life and a pathway to the middle class—the same rights and freedoms that Republican Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin and his counterparts in other states are trying to strip from teachers and other public- and private-sector workers.

(Source of information regarding rally: Chicago Federation of Labor’s website at www.ChicagoLabor.org.  Photos: Cezar Simeon)

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Video of of the 5/25/2010 Save Our Schools rally and march featuring CORE Candidates Karen Lewis (President) and Jesse Sharkey (Vice President)

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Huberman, Daley, and the CPS are in for a fight when 30,000 members are united.

In a display of unity that is uncommon in an election season, all five caucuses of the CTU came together to march against Huberman’s threats of ballooning class sizes to 35 and major cuts to educational programs. Koco, Teachers for Social Justice, Pilsen Alliance, Blocks Together, and other GEM partners  organized students, parents, and community members to march in unity with the Union teachers who are integral members of their communities.

CORE Presidential candidate Karen Lewis talking to young people at rally.

One police officer on duty estimated 5,000 protesters, making this one of the largest educational protests in decades.

Initially, CORE planned to organize the rally with their GEM partners, but realized that this was an event that would be bigger than a caucus, and made a resolution at the May House of Delegates meeting for the event to be a Union event; a show of unity against Huberman and Daley. Although it was a political risk to organize members to an all-caucus event while on the campaign trail, CORE made it a priority to build this event, and it paid off.

This is exactly the kind of Unionism that CORE wants and the membership deserves.

On May 21, 2010, 65% of all Chicago Teachers Union members voted against their incumbent President, Marilyn Stewart.  In the election booth and in the streets, our members declared that our Union can no longer be complicit in the destruction of public schools.  This protest on May 25^th was initiated by rank-and-file teachers and Union delegates to break the current Union leadership’s silence.

Letter from CORE Presidential Candidate Karen Lewis:

Dear Teachers, PSRPs, clinicians, and supporters,

Tuesday May 25, 2010 will go down in history as the beginning of a new way.

We had thousands of people in the streets telling Huberman “No” to 35 in a class, “NO” to cuts in programs and “NO” to balancing their budgets on the backs of educators and students. What made this possible was that members of all five caucuses came together to show unity.  I would like to thank all the members of PACT, CSDU and SEA for running campaigns that focused on the pressing issues we all face.  We appreciate the expressions of support we have received from the leadership and membership of those caucuses.  It is an honor to be among people who care passionately about the direction this Union must take.

As I rode back on the bus a parent said to me, “…And this is just the beginning.”

She was absolutely right.

In solidarity,

Karen Lewis

CORE Candidate for CTU President

National Board Certified Teacher

Thousands of Teachers, PSRPs, and Clinicians are a force to be reckoned with!

Click here to read the press statement on the rally.

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Download this flyer and distribute to teachers, parents, and other community members.

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CORE Candidate for Area Vice President Norine Gutekanst delivers FOIA request to the Attorney General's office, surrounded by members of CORE and the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM)

On April 28th, the Grassroots Education Movement, CORE and more than 50 teachers from 10 different schools throughout the city held a press conference in front of the State of Illinois building to force the Chicago Public Schools to adhere to the Freedom of Information Act. The gathering spoke first about the need for transparency before any budget cuts are in place after which everyone proceed to move inside of the building and request a meeting with Attorney General, Lisa Madigan.

The letter was received by the Assistant Public Access Counselor who quickly notified CPS that they were in non-compliance of the FOIA law and must provide the documents that I, on behalf of CORE and GEM, requested on March 27th. Thanks to the efforts of this gathering, there may finally be a way to determine whether or not Huberman and his financial appointees are telling the public the truth or hiding a surplus to justify draconian teacher cuts in the fall.

Representative from Attorney General's Office receives letter.

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