About Unions
Since the Strike
By Charles Tocci
and Melissa Barton
From Catalyst Chicago
With students back in Chicagos schools, many people
are looking for lessons from
the teachers strike. Some have
already recommended that the
city double-down on its attempts
to weaken the Chicago Teachers
Union (CTU) with more school
closings and charters.
But as educators deeply invested in the success of Chicagos schools, we come away
with very different lessons. We
argue that teacher unions have
in the past proven to be an essential voice in improving public education; that the recent
strike has preserved that voice
Charles Tocci is a clinical assistant professor in the School of Education at Loyola University Chicago and Melissa Barton is a doctoral
candidate at the University of Chicago and a teacher in the Chicago
Public Schools. This article was first posted on the Catalyst Chicago
website, www.catalyst-chicago.org, on October 29, 2012. Condensed,
with permission, from Catalyst Chicago.
January 2013
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