As the Chicago Teachers Union strike enters its fourth day, President
Obama finds himself stuck in the middle of the unfolding contract
battle between the city and the labor union.
Obama’s former chief of staff, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, has incurred the labor union’s ire because of his support for lengthening the school day and for teacher evaluations.
Emanuel is not Obama’s only link to Chicago’s ongoing crisis, which has left more than 300,000 students without a classroom. Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, was the chief executive officer for Chicago Public Schools and “has used federal funds to advocate tying teachers’ evaluations to student performance,” according to Bloomberg. The teachers’ union adamantly opposes these evaluations.
That puts Obama in a tough spot. Obama and the Democratic Party rely on labor unions for both votes and campaign efforts. The two major national teacher unions were quick to endorse Obama in 2012, noted Daniela Fairchild of the Fordham Institute, and he relied on teachers for door-to-door campaigning back in 2008.
Obama in return pledged support to labor unions: In 2007 he promised to “put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself” and “walk on that picket line with you as President” if workers were denied collective bargaining rights.
Obama has neither donned sneakers nor offered comment on his hometown’s crisis, however. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Monday, “His principle concern is for the students and families who are affected by the situation and we hope that both sides are able to come together to settle this quickly and in the best interest of Chicago’s students.”
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/a-rahm-and-a-hard-place/
Obama’s former chief of staff, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, has incurred the labor union’s ire because of his support for lengthening the school day and for teacher evaluations.
Emanuel is not Obama’s only link to Chicago’s ongoing crisis, which has left more than 300,000 students without a classroom. Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, was the chief executive officer for Chicago Public Schools and “has used federal funds to advocate tying teachers’ evaluations to student performance,” according to Bloomberg. The teachers’ union adamantly opposes these evaluations.
That puts Obama in a tough spot. Obama and the Democratic Party rely on labor unions for both votes and campaign efforts. The two major national teacher unions were quick to endorse Obama in 2012, noted Daniela Fairchild of the Fordham Institute, and he relied on teachers for door-to-door campaigning back in 2008.
Obama in return pledged support to labor unions: In 2007 he promised to “put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself” and “walk on that picket line with you as President” if workers were denied collective bargaining rights.
Obama has neither donned sneakers nor offered comment on his hometown’s crisis, however. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Monday, “His principle concern is for the students and families who are affected by the situation and we hope that both sides are able to come together to settle this quickly and in the best interest of Chicago’s students.”
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/a-rahm-and-a-hard-place/
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