ENCOURAGING SIGNS
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More teacher strikes are going on in the Chicago suburban areas. The teachers in several other suburban districts have also threatened to strike. I have seen teachers everywhere speaking out in support of striking teachers, criticizing so called “reforms”, speaking out against student test scores as a teacher evaluation tool, and talking about rejecting merit pay proposals.
Perhaps teachers have finally had enough with all this teacher bashing, the ridiculous reform measures, the meddling of corporations and big money interests, the anti union forces, and the tactic of school boards using the poor economy as an excuse to take back salary and benefits from teachers.
These are all encouraging signs. Finally we see teachers standing up for themselves and refusing to be bullied any longer. There are still way too many teachers who refuse to understand why the threat of a strike, or an actual strike is necessary when negotiating with school districts. To those teachers I would say, “exactly what other leverage do you have when negotiating” ? The answer is, NONE. Time and again we see district negotiations going on for months, teachers negotiating while working for months without a contract, an