It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice
| Marines Martinez from Chicago ACTS Local 4343 tells media that ASPIRA charter teachers are willing to go on strike to “take a stand for our students and our larger communities.” |
BREAD & ROSES...It's International Women's Day and what better way to celebrate than to show some solidarity with Chicago's, mostly women of color, fast food workers who are filing EEOC complaints today against Burger King. The filing will be followed by a protest in front of a downtown Burger King restaurant to demand an end to the rampant sexual harassment and workplace violence happening in their stores.
Fast food workers at BK stores across the city have experienced physical and verbal abuse along with intimidation from general management at several locations owned by the same franchisee. One under-aged woman worker was fired for not consenting to specific sexual requests.
Contact Deivid Rojas, Communications Director Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago,
Fight For 15 Chicago for more. 312.219.0008.
THE KLONSKY BROS. will be talking plenty of IWD stuff and more with 10th Ward Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza on Hitting Left radio, Friday at 11 a.m. on WLPN 105.5 F.M., streaming live at Lumpen Radio. Don't miss.
ASPIRA teachers have set March 17th as their strike date unless a last-minute agreement is reached. If they do strike, it will be the first strike of charter schools in the nation. ASPIRA runs four publicly funded Chicago charter schools, serves 1,400 students - who are mostly Latino - and has 106 educators.
Teachers said at a press conference Tuesday that ASPIRA schools were not allocating money correctly, letting basic school building needs - like clean bathrooms and stalls - are falling by the wayside. Educators posted photos on Facebook from inside the high school of leaky ceilings, water marks and bug traps in the building.
"We want to make sure that ASPIRA tells us where they are spending their money. If you walk into our schools... I've been with ASPIRA for five years and every year Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice:
