Today’s strike authorization vote by members of the Chicago Teachers Union brings back memories of the week that my local went out on strike.
It was a cold November week in 2003.
Our strike memory is still fresh for many. Two thirds of those presently teaching in Park Ridge, District 64 took part in that strike.
There had not been a strike in our district for a quarter of a century. Few teachers ever thought they would ever need to walk out. For many it was a decision made with a degree of anxiety and fear of the unknown.
It would be different today.
Although the vote by Chicago teachers is not to strike, but to give authority to the leadership to call a strike if necessary, I think that most of my colleagues who spent a week on the picket line in 2003 would tell their Chicago colleagues not to fear.
Sometimes the actions of a school board are so extreme that a strike is what is needed, even if it causes discomfort among some or anger among others.
They would tell their Chicago colleagues that the right to strike is part of the collective bargaining process and that the bargaining process is one of our democratic rights.
And Scott Walker notwithstanding, it is a right that needs to be protected.
And like all rights, sometimes exercised.
Fred Klonsky 
Somewhere, an heiress is tut-tutting.
Our district went out into the cold, as well. (Our wonderful principal & secretary came out
with hot chocolate!) One of the parents–who owned a restaurant/catering service–brought food. We, too, had not had a strike in as many years as SD64. It didn’t last long (< than 2 weeks), in large part because the parents supported US. (Several of the ELECTED school
board members did, as well.)
So, Chicago friends, do it–fear not.
The parents have spoken, & they are on your side.
I still have the T-shirt…”I walked the line in ’79″….Long March days and very short nights. One of the greatest outcomes was the beginning of 30+ years of friendships.