Category: Occupy Movement

Tags: Chicago, CTU, Teachers, Union, Strike, CME, 99, CPS, Chicago, Public, Schools, public, sector, unions, solidarity, charter, schools

On May 23, 2012, Chicago Teachers Union held a massive rally at the Auditorium theater to inform their membership about the coming contract struggle they face. In the climate of school closings, budget cuts, a terrible new proposed contract, and teacher-bashing on the part of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and Chicago schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizzard, CTU took to the streets to show their numbers and appeal to the public, and within two weeks CTU was voting to authorize a strike. Meanwhile a few blocks away, Stand Up Chicago, Action Now, and many other community organizations rallied against the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME, the operator of the Chicago Board of Trade) and the $110 million tax break they've been given by Illinois. CME is one of the most profitable companies in the region, and yet now Illinois government is making broad cuts to social programs needed by struggling families. These two marches converged at Jackson and LaSalle in a unified demand for economic justice for Chicago's 99%. Length: 28:08. Please make a Donation to Labor Beat (Committee for Labor Access) and help rank-and-file tv: DONATE Scenes from big march through Chicago's Loop after CTU rally on May 23. photo: Labor Beat Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat. For info: mail@laborbeat.org, www.laborbeat.org. 312-226-3330. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat". On Chicago CAN TV Channel 19, Thursdays 9:30 pm; Fridays 4:30 pm. Labor Beat has regular cable slots in Chicago, Evanston, Rockford, Urbana, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; and Rochester, NY. For more detailed information, send us a request at mail@laborbeat.org.

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