Movements for Freedom Case studies of movements and projects for economic democracy around the world Guiding Questions 1. What resonates with you and why? 2. What are the values/principles that you see expressed in this example? 3. What kinds of tactics and strategies are being used in this example?

Chicago Strike

The Teachers Union (CTU) has recently made history with its path breaking labor organizing and use of strikes. After a successful 2010 internal organizing campaign to elect a slate of visionary union leaders, in 2012 the union went on strike against Chicago Mayor ’s efforts to privatize public schools. Thousands demonstrated and won many of the protections for teachers and schools that they demanded. In 2019, the CTU made history again with a strike that broadened the definition of what affects public education by including affordable housing in its demands.This demand was illegal - the teachers are allowed only to strike over their “direct” working conditions. This broader statement was a big risk.

The 25,000-member CTU asserts a principle of “bargaining for the common good.” As the union sees it, the interests of teachers are aligned with those of the students they teach. For this reason, the demands of the 2019 strike centered racial justice, a critical issue in the highly segregated city. Teachers bargained for equi- table distribution of resources for schools that serve black and brown students, sanctuary for immigrants, restorative justice initiatives, and measures to address student homelessness.

On this last issue, the union recognized that while in-school support is critical, citywide housing policy also has immense impact on student well-being and success. Union members took direct action and got arrested to highlight their criticism of the city’s practice of giving tax breaks to real estate developers and allowing them to pay a fee to avoid including affordable housing in their developments. They demanded more sustainable affordable housing for low-income Chicago residents as a necessary measure to help both students and teachers, despite Mayor ’s response that affordable housing did not belong in the contract bargaining process for a teachers’ union.

The strike began in October 2019 and lasted 11 school days. The CTU was joined by the service workers’ union SEIU local 73 (public service workers), as well as the Chicago Teamsters union, in an example of labor solidarity. A new contract was ratified in November 2019 and in addition to a pay raise, included hard caps on class sizes, new resources for homeless students, and sanctuary schools. However, just as im- portant as the union’s concrete wins are its strides towards a more expansive view of labor organizing that recognizes that education, housing, and racial justice are deeply connected.