Chicago Teachers Union Showcases Power in the Rank and File at 2013 LEAD
Political commentator Ed Schultz, host of MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” to offer keynote address
CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) on Friday, Oct. 25, 2013, will hold its 2013 Legislators and Educators Appreciation Dinner (LEAD), on Friday, October 25 at 5:00 p.m. The dinner will be held at Plumbers Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd. This annual event provides an opportunity for rank and file CTU members to engage elected officials and discuss the conditions in Chicago’s public schools and the Union’s efforts to give students the education they deserve.
Ed Schultz, nationally syndicated talk radio commentator and host of MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” will be the keynote speaker at 2013 LEAD. A 30-year veteran of the broadcasting industry and one of the strongest voices for working-class Americans, Schultz has covered some of the biggest events in the nation’s history, from live network reports from Capitol Hill during the attacks of September 11, 2001, to hosting the first national show on-scene in Wisconsin to tell the story of the attacks on worker's rights
Schultz’s book, “Straight Talk from the Heartland,” “laid a roadmap for the Progressive wave that’s sweeping America,” according tohttp://www.bigeddieradio.com. “The most important part of talking is listening,” he says. “An open microphone is democracy in its purest form.”
Governance of Chicago Public Schools under mayor control has destabilized school communities, displaced thousands of teachers and school personnel, and put more than 50,000 students at academic and physical risk. There is no body of research, data or compelling arguments that present evidence that mayor control has increased the value of public education in Chicago or produced high-achieving centers of academic study.
During 2013 LEAD, the CTU will unveil its legislative platform and launch a five-point campaign to reshape the political landscape just as it has reshaped discussions on education. The campaign will: increase monthly contributions to the CTU Political Action Committee; engage membership, parents, allies and all of Chicago in creating a platform that provides the city we deserve; advocate for increased revenue for our school district; cultivate candidates for offices in Springfield and City Hall; and advancing a legislative agenda that includes defending pensions, an end to mayoral control of public schools and an elected, representative school board.
The CTU has recruited and trained several deputy voter registrars and has also started fielding people who are interested in running for public office.
“We must continue to rewrite the narrative and reclaim our destiny, even in an environment that is becoming increasingly unsympathetic to public school educators and professionals,” said CTU President Karen GJ Lewis. “LEAD is the chance for our rank and file members—the strength of our union—to hold their legislators accountable and let them know how the decisions they make impact classrooms and the future of Chicago’s students and schools.”