Action Now joined the Chicago Teachers Union, Stand Up! Chicago and other community groups fighting to save public education for a rally and march on December 18th, 2012. The rally began outside of CPS Headquarters at 125 S. Clark where members picketed with signs and chants against the “fat cats” trying to make money off public education by opening more for-profit charter schools, while closing public schools in low-income minority communities.
The Chicago Teacher Union and Stand Up! Chicago presented their new study at the press conference, “Fight For The Future: How Low Wages Are Failing Children In Chicago Public Schools” that is the latest in a series of reports on the social and economic price Chicago pays when major corporations pay their employees such low wages that many are forced to rely on public assistance just to make ends meet. As one of the authors of the report said at the rally, “The Chicago education crisis is directly related to the Chicago poverty crisis.”
A low wage worker from the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago and Fight For $15 campaign spoke about how she often had make the difficult choice, “between putting food on the table and buying schools supplies for my children.”
Former teacher and CTU organizer Brandon Johnson stated, “The corporate fat cats that pay workers poverty wages are the same people profiting from schools closings and charters!”
Action Now members in the lobby of Bruce Rauner’s office
Marching downtown to confront the fat cats!
After the press conference, there was a march to the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s close friend and millionaire corporate education reformer Bruce Rauner. Rauner is one of the many rich businessmen who sees a financial opportunity in public education. These greedy “fat cats” want a chunk of the taxpayer money that goes to public schools for themselves, so they developed the idea of privately-run charter schools that could receive education funds. Instead of educating kids, the main goal of a charter school is to funnel money to the company that runs it.
Parents, teachers, students and community members know that these businessmen are trying to take money from their public schools, which is hurting the education of Chicago’s children. We refuse to stand buy while the rich try to get richer by taking money that should go to our kids!
Watch the video below called, “Stand Up To The Fat Cats” for more info:
Press:
Chicago Sun-Times, “Teachers union marches on Loop office of mayor’s pal and charter schools booster”
Chicago Tribune, “Document shows Emanuel administration had detailed school closing plans”
ABC 7 News, “Charter school approvals on Board of Education meeting agenda”
