NEWS & EVENTS (BenOrtiz.com)

Thursday, October 21, 2004
CITY COLLEGES of CHICAGO STRIKE: Day III

[photo courtesy of Lee Sustar]

Before the strike, President Boyd of Truman College requested a meeting with non-tenured faculty, of which I count myself along with the various people who had been brought on after a long hiring freeze of full-time faculty. She stressed that there would be no reprisals against anyone on strike, but she recommended a “low profile” for new faculty. It was such collegial advice that, looking back on it now from the picket line, I recognize it as just another tactic to keep the blood from flowing out of Truman with a strike.

There is no way to keep a “low profile” on the picket line. And I reject, I roundly repudiate the disingenuous letter sent from the President to Union members suggesting that we are “striking to support the interests of a few of [Local 1600] members.”

If full-time faculty get rolled by admin on this strike, there will be no end to the unreasonable, disrespectful demands of all Truman workers, and students surely will be the primary subjects to suffer in their quest for quality, affordable education.

Two students today reaffirmed that they have better teachers at Truman than Columbia College or Loyola, precisely because as student-centered schools the City Colleges are and should remain committed to students first, not bureaucrats.

Nonetheless, I have a high opinion of President Boyd and do not envy her position right now, hemmed in on one side by the Chancellor leaning on her and all the students becoming progressively hostile about this situation. [My guess is that she didn't even write the letter, but rather the Chancellor is a skilled ventriloquist.] And I’m sure she’s gotta be really lonely in that empty building right now, peeking out from behind those postboarded windows that make Truman look more and more like an abandoned storefront evangelical church with newspaper covering the glass.

Whatever “low profile” I had was blown today when, on the picket line from 7:30am to 3pm (the picket line is now on shifts), I WAS INTERVIEWED BY TELEMUNDO!!! See me interviewed in Spanish (whaaa?) by the local Telemundo affiliate today at 5pm and again at 10pm. I was happy to have one of my students there from Mexico who was also interviewed.

Funny, but they picked me for the interview over my colleague Ana King because they thought I looked a bit more Latino, which comes as some surprise after being called honkey, sell-out, negrito, Pakistani, “The Man”, and countless other such names by my fans over the years.

So, see me on Chicago’s Telemundo station at 5pm and/or 10pm.

I respect my Union family, especially senior faculty in my department who brought me to Truman to begin with and thereby brought me along into this fight for the lot of us.

Thank you STUDENTS for coming out to walk with your teachers today!

OTHER NEWS!
Remember, “there will be no reprisals by the Union or the Board against the Board or the Union, Union members, students, clerks, or any other person as a result of participation or non-participation by any of the above in a strike by Local 1600” (Contract Article XIV). Actually, I’m repeating this line to convince myself that it was OK to exercise my free speech on Telemundo today.

Also, The City Colleges Student Government Association (SGA) has taken a stand in support of teachers!!! Here’s the scoop from an SGA flyer issued after a vote to stand in favor of teachers: “Students at the seven City Colleges are rallying to make our voices heard. We are meeting at 12:00[pm] in the park at 1900 W. Harrison, across from Malcolm X College. We want our teachers to get what they deserve, and we want to get our students back into class. … Bring friends, family, and members of the community with you. Support your teachers!”

You might have missed the event today, but there will be another such rally at Malcolm X this Saturday morning (I believe at 10am) TO GREET MAYOR DALEY ON HIS VISIT TO CAMPUS!

I hope to see you there or, alternately, at any one of the City Colleges picket lines, as the pickets are on shifts but will continue through tonight and on into the weekend, because the building might be open but the school is closed.

--B

Posted by Benjamin at October 21, 2004 04:16 PM