NEWS & EVENTS (BenOrtiz.com)
The following notice is meant especially for Truman College students...
Dear Students:
Many of you have asked about how a possible strike will affect classes next week. A date has been set for a strike, if negotiations do not come to an agreement: Tuesday, October 19, 2004. Please check with all of your teachers to find out about your schedule, since part-time credit teachers are not an official part of the strike -- though some might be participating.
As of today, classes will go on per usual this Monday. Please check my web site (www.benortiz.com) for a post on late Monday about events, as I am a Local 1600 Union member and will be picketing outside of Truman if a strike is indeed called. In that event, I will not return to teach classes until the strike is resolved, and there will be no subs for my classes.
We've learned a lot in class so far -- in Literature 126, close reading; in News Reporting, what it means to do journalism and keep digging for the truth; in Composition 102, how to research and evaluate sources; in College Newspaper, what it means to know and engage your community.
As a part of what you're learning in class, you might want to read through and follow links for informational pieces you'll find below. First, there are links to the Cook County College Teachers Union web page (www.ccctu.com) and then for the City Colleges of Chicago district page (www.ccc.edu) below for specific articles. You might immediately notice differences in how the events are being recounted, maybe even factual discrepancies. Ask yourself which source you believe and what questions are left unanswered, and then read a recent piece from the Chicago Tribune on the strike. Contrast and compare the PR pieces from the District page with the Tribune journalism and public communications from the Union. Consider also the call to action (excerpted below) on the student flyers in support of Truman teachers. Decide for yourself what you think, and take more action if you like with an e-mail, phone call, letter, or other action of your choice.
Finally: I've also listed who you can contact for more information, plus a sample letter, if you choose to write a letter in support of the strike, as well as an e-mail address for Truman students who are organizing events in support of Truman teachers.
I look forward to continuing classes soon without all of this distraction, as this is my best semester ever, and I am enjoying our time as a Truman community.
Yours,
Benjamin Ortiz
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[I haven't had time to build the links, so copy/paste the URLs into your address line to get there, same for e-mails...]
1. FROM THE COOK COUNTY COLLEGE TEACHERS UNION PAGE
(www.ccctu.com)
A Strike? What is going on?? And How Can I Help?
http://www.ccctu.com/announcements/Whatcanyoudotohelp.htm
Community Rallies to City Colleges'
Teachers, Professionals, Security and Others
http://www.ccctu.com/announcements/demusjoinseffort.htm
2. FROM the CCC DISTRICT PAGE (www.ccc.edu)
Contract Negotiation FAQs
http://www.ccc.edu/aboutccc/studentfaq.shtml
PR piece
http://www.ccc.edu/aboutccc/news/negot_10_15_04.shtml
3. CHICAGO TRIBUNE ARTICLE
City Colleges teachers ready to strike
Tribune staff report
October 15, 2004, 11:52 AM CDT
A teachers union today declared an impasse in talks with the City Colleges of Chicago and said its members would walk off the job Tuesday. A strike could affect some 60,000 students.
"Although there was some positive movement, we are still far away in several key areas," Perry Buckley, president of the Cook County College Teachers Union, said in a news release issued this morning.
Union negotiators plan to continue meeting through the weekend with their City Colleges counterparts and a federal mediator, Buckley said, adding, "We will be available around the clock in order to avoid a strike."
The main sticking points remain health-care premiums, salaries, increased workload and certain academic issues, Buckley said.
Today's strike announcement took City College administrators by surprise. They are preparing a response that is expected to be released this afternoon.
Faculty and staff of the City Colleges filed a notice to strike Oct. 6 with the Educational Labor Relations Board, one day after union members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a walkout.
The union and college have been negotiating since May. The previous contract expired July 15.
4. WHO TO WRITE & SAMPLE LETTER
Mayor Richard M. Daley
Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle St. Room 507
Chicago, IL 60602
Fax: 312-744-8045
Dr. Wayne Watson
Office of the Chancellor
226 W. Jackson
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 553-2510
chancellor@ccc.edu
Dear Dr. Watson:
As a student at Harry S Truman College, I am writing to urge you to do everything in your power to come to an agreement with the teachers, professional employees and security officers of the Cook County College Teachers Union to avoid a strike. A disruption in classes would be terrible for students, faculty and administrators alike. As a student with family and job commitments, time is precious thing. I cannot afford to make up lost class time with longer classes or an extended semester.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. I look forward to your reply.
5. INFO from STUDENTS ORGANIZING IN SUPPORT OF
TRUMAN TEACHERS
...from an informational flyer posted at Truman...A rally will be held at Truman college to organize the students starting on Monday, October 18th, and will continue while the strike lasts. ... Please bring signs, noise makers, and warm clothing and good shoes. In addition to the picket lines, a student sponsored demonstration will be held at the Mayor's Office on Wednesday, October 20, if the strike is still continuing. This is our money that is being wasted by the Board of Education by not honoring our teachers. If we force the City of Chicago to hear us, we can stop the strike and classes will resume with OUR teachers. Please meet Wednesday, October 20, 2004, 9am, Mayor Richard Daley's office, 121 N. LaSalle Room 507, Chicago, IL 60602
...from another Truman student flyer
...We as students can not afford to make up lost time with longer classes or an extended semester. We can help end the strike quickly if we support our teachers!!! To not support them would mean the strike WILL LAST LONGER and we will have an extended semester. ...All students are encouraged to come to school as they regularly would, but instead of attending class, stand with your teachers and help them demand respect. For more information [for students who want to join other students in organizing]:
strike_trumancollege2004@yahoo.com