Strike in Chicago echoes labor, Dem tension in Rhode Island
September 14th, 2012 at 11:40 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
This sound familiar? Harold Meyerson writing for The Washington Post:
At stake in the conflict is not only the future of education reform but also the role of unions within the party and, by extension, the nation. Emanuel’s clear desire to reduce the teachers union’s role in the city’s schools is hardly his alone. It’s shared by other Democratic mayors such as Los Angeles’s Antonio Villaraigosa. Still other heavily Democratic cities, such as San Jose, Calif., have reduced their employees’ pension benefits. What’s brewing is a battle between Democratic Party management (chiefly mayors, backed by a significant portion of the public) and Democratic Party labor, also backed by a significant portion of the public. If there’s a win-win scenario out there, the party and its publics would do well to find it.
I’d add a few local mayors to Meyerson’s mix of Democrats those who clash with their teachers unions – Providence’s Angel Taveras, who’s spoken with Emanuel in recent months about their similar fiscal problems, as well as Cumberland’s Dan McKee. And it’s not limited to mayors – there’s also Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, a Carcieri holdover unpopular with the unions whose portfolio includes the troubled Central Falls schools that drew President Obama’s attention.
Nor is it limited to education. Democratic Treasurer Gina Raimondo, backed by Chafee and General Assembly Democrats, pushed through sweeping pension changes opposed by labor. Her predecessor, Democrat Frank Caprio, saw public-sector unions desert him and back Chafee in 2010. And union officials vented their frustration last year when Democrats Gordon Fox and Teresa Paiva Weed blocked tax increases.
Donna Perry and Sam Howard have their own thoughts on this divide.
Tags: organized labor, unions
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
See, and here is how the press tries, and tries, and tries so hard to shape this debate. The “liberal except when it comes to unions” WaPO inserts this line into the story:
“(chiefly mayors, backed by a significant portion of the public)”
but here is the reality.
A majority of people in Chicago support the striking teachers.
http://www.suntimes.com/15081881-761/story.html
Why the press, especially national news outlets like WaPO and NYTIMES consistently get this story wrong is why one why working people just don’t trust them.
Headline from article Pat Crowley cited:
“47% of Chicago voters back teachers”
Tell me, since when is 47% a majority? Lies, lies, lies.
I wondered the same thing, but the article itself shows the figures to be 47% to 39%, so it seems that 47% is indeed a majority of those with an opinion, but the better description would have been “plurality.”
Fine , plurality, majority of respondents, more than opposed, however you want to characterize it….face the facts…..the “majority” is not with the union busters.
Chicago teachers make 70 grand a year.I would fire them all.Maybe they need some of the enforcers from the RI teachers union.That fat guy I forgot his name would not scare anyone.Liedecker is a joke but the union gave him a promotion and a raise.
You have been fooled,they don’t make 70k a year. Get your facts straight before putting out drivel like that……they make 76k a year…he he!!!
Hopefully Rahm sticks it to them.
According to CNN:
“The average teacher salary in Chicago was $74,839 for the 2011-2012 school year, according to the district.”
Of course, that’s not counting generous benefits, and it’s not counting the roughly 180-day school year.
If they were all fired, you can bet thousands of qualified applicants would rush in to take advantage of a deal like that.