Teachers Union Organizes ‘Walk-In’ Protests Over CPS Budget Cuts
CHICAGO (CBS) — Students, parents, and teachers at nearly 200 schools across Chicago were staging a series of “walk-in” demonstrations, to protest budget cuts by the Chicago Public Schools.
The Chicago Teachers Union said the protests are part of a national demonstration to show support for public schools.
Supporters will meet before school to rally and show unity before walking into the building together, and then breaking up so students can go to class.
The CTU said the walk-ins show the collective power of the community. The protest is designed to show Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Board of Education that the teachers’ union and its supporters will act together to protect teachers’ jobs and the educational opportunities of students.
Protesters want the mayor and CPS Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool to find sources of funding that force the wealthy pay to makeup the system’s budget gaps.
“Why you make swap deals with banks, why you protect developers with TIFs, why you pass property taxes for everyone else except the schools, and we can’t fund our schools. They have to fund the schools, or else we’re going to start doing permanent damage to the public education system, and they’re going to provoke a strike,”CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said.
WBBM 780’s Bernie Tafoya
Kelly High School senior Evelyn Solis was among about 75 students, parents, and teachers taking part in a walk-in at her school at Archer and California avenues.
“I love it how Kelly is like a huge family, you know? If it wasn’t for the teachers and staff, I wouldn’t have been a straight A student. I wouldn’t know how important my education can be, and how it can affect my future,” she said.
The walk-ins are part of a nationwide protest demanding more money for public education. In Chicago, where CPS recently imposed $120 million Teachers Union Organizes ‘Walk-In’ Protests Over CPS Budget Cuts « CBS Chicago:
