Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm giddy in Charlotte as strike nears

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm giddy in Charlotte as strike nears:

Rahm giddy in Charlotte as strike nears

by Mike Klonsky

As the strike deadline draws near, I'm taken with image of Rahm Emanuel, last night, still in Charlotte,giggling like a little boy in front of the TV cameras and clapping wildly as his patron Clinton lectures the eager crowd.. For a moment I thought he was going to pee himself.

Meanwhile back home, the CTU was not impressed. The union upped the ante yesterday, filing a charge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board accusing CPS, among other things, of unfairly denying CTU members “step” increases for additional years of experience. CTU officials contended the board must honor the step increases in the current contract until a new contract replaces it. 

In response to the charges and feeling the stress of mounting public pressure and possible damage to the Obama campaign, CPS made a concession. While they refused to move off of their measly 2% pay increase offer, the board did move away from its "merit pay" demand -- a major concession. Previously, CPS had