A reply to Herman Benson: The Chicago Teachers Union is a different kind of labor union
| Lois Weiner | July 12, 2013 |
The exchange between Herman Benson and Dan La Botz highlights one, if not the primary, issue that has to be resolved if we are to turn back the tidal wave of anti-union and anti-democratic policies that have transformed the nation’s social and political landscape. I think both Herman and Dan would agree that we need a revived labor movement. But what will drive the revival? And what form should it take?
Herman’s definition of revival seems to consist of more “oomph” from the AFL-CIO leadership and more attention to union democracy. Both are sorely needed. The question is whether these are adequate to restore, let alone push forward, the political and economic policies we so desperately need. In education, the answer is a clear “no” and the example of the Chicago Teachers Union supports Dan’s argument.
Yes, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) conducted a militant strike. But it was not a traditional strike by any means, if we take as a definition of tradition what has existed in US unions for four decades. What we see in Chicago has been more like the kind of organizing done by the CIO, fusing a progressive social program to union demands. CORE, the insurgent caucus that leads the CTU and was re-elected last month in a