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Chicago Lawsuit Against Teachers' Unions (Francisco Wong-Diaz, USA, 01/11/22 3:27 am)

JE should note that in Chicago parents have just filed a lawsuit against the teachers' union.

In my college and university teaching and Administration days I helped organize, but then refused to join two closed union shops due to lack of freedom of choice. A successful statewide lawsuit settled that situation in favor of many of us. The most radical part-time teachers were also the core activists who eventually gained control and tried to run the union, hoping also to run the university. They mostly pushed for full benefits, higher wages, less supervision, smaller classes, no testing, and the elimination of tenure and review committees. What is today called critical race theory was their purview and they used their own students to criticize and try to fire colleagues with opposing political views. Students were used as pawns in a power game.

In a different context, as a Cuban youth I had a school friend whose uncle was a leader of the CTC--the largest national union. He supported the Castro revolution and welcomed Fidel's entry into Havana in 1959. Castro knew about unions, however, and within two years he had purged, jailed or shot many union leaders...including my friend's uncle.  I never saw them again.

JE comments:  The Chicago standoff between Mayor Lightfoot and the Teachers' Union had to do with Covid-19 safety and protocol.  After a compromise was reached, classes will resume tomorrow, with some of the district's higher-infected schools holding virtual classes.

What is the present situation for other teachers in WAISdom?  Adrian College is presently in full "f2f" mode, but Oakland University (Aldona's employer) is on-line through the end of January.  This is also the case for Michigan State and Wayne State.

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