For The Most Complete Coverage of The Teachers’ Union Election . . .

Go to Substance to find out in depth information about Chicago education and more.  The election held today, May 21, for leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union could mark an important turning point for trade union and general working class activity.  There is no doubt that public education has always presented itself as a way to escape the horrors of poverty — whether a way to a skilled trade or a professional life. “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today,” a quotation attributed to Malcolm X, could at one time be interpreted as a passport to better jobs.  More and more, however, the tomorrow we envision is different from the today we experience, and preparation means something different than it used to mean.  In that light, the CTU election has some very important possibilities, for only the Caucus Of Rank and file Educators (CORE) is developing the connections within the emerging movement around education and is developing the vision to do more than defend the old ground.
Check out the CORE web site and Substance for the most complete and immediate information on the significance of this election!

May 17, 2010

Colleagues:

This Friday, May 21, 2010, the Chicago Teachers Union will hold the election that may determine who runs the 30,000-member union for the next three years. I say “may” because according to CTU rules, a candidate has to get more than 50 percent of the vote to win. With five slates running on May 21, that is highly unlikely, if not mathematically impossible.

Substance will try to release the first vote count after the votes are tallied Friday night or Saturday, and then provide our readers with the schedule for the runoff election if one is necessary. We have devoted an enormous amount of time and space to the Chicago election because Chicago’s version of corporate “school reform” — including the corporate version of “school reform unionism” practiced by the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union under Marilyn Stewart — is the model for much of what is destroying public education in the USA today.

We’ve had to focus on many local issues from Chicago for the past few months, but within a few weeks, we will return to full coverage with your continuing support.

Thanks for tuning in,

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance