CHICAGO — Thousands of people gathered here on Saturday for a rally in support of public school educators who have been locked in a contentious contract battle. It was the largest show of union force since teachers in this, the nation’s third largest school district, went on strike nearly a week ago.
The crowd, which included some teachers and union supporters from Wisconsin and Minnesota, shook homemade protest signs in the air and wore the signature red T-shirts of the Chicago Teachers Union as they descended on Union Park, just west of downtown. The city skyline rose behind a stage from which a lineup of politicians, teachers, students and activists gave speeches about union strength and the need for better school conditions in the city.
“Brothers and sisters, we did not start this fight,” Karen Lewis, the president of the teachers union in Chicago, said in a speech that was halted more than once as the crowd chanted “Karen Lewis for Mayor.”
“You are asking us to do wrong to children, and that’s why we’re here,” Ms. Lewis added. “And I don’t think people understand that.”
Many people in Chicago began the weekend with renewed hope that the strike was nearing an end after news emerged Friday that the outlines of an agreement had been reached by negotiators. Both sides suggested that the 350,000 children who have been kept out of their classrooms could be back in school as soon as Monday, just a week after the walkout began.
Still, with many details of the agreement unknown to the public, and even to teachers, union members seemed uneasy about being overly optimistic — and they were not yet ready to stop voicing their grievances about Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s education policies.
“Until it’s signed on the line, we’re still going to fight,” said Julie Gabrick, a physical education teacher on the city’s Northwest Side. “We’re not going to give up that quick. We’ve been flexing our muscles all week and we’re going to keep at it until the bitter end.”
The weekend rally caps nearly a week of protests by teachers who have picketed at schools and marched in downtown streets. All the while, back-and-forth negotiations led to a series of mixed signals from the union and school board about how talks were progressing. Just days ago, union officials described the two sides as “miles apart,” suggesting that the largest political crisis of Mr. Emanuel’s first mayoral term could drag on, even as parents dreaded the thought of another week of scrambling to find emergency child care.
But on Friday, union leaders and schools officials announced that the outlines of an agreement had been reached. If negotiators can get the deal in writing this weekend, the union will most likely try to get approval from its nearly 800-member leadership body on Sunday to lift the strike. That could get students and teachers back into the classrooms by Monday, union officials said.
The Saturday event, however, gave little attention to negotiations that continued in a downtown law office just a mile away. Instead, it emphasized the power of unions in Chicago and across the nation, which many here say have been under siege in recent years.
“You have proven to the world that you’re not going to take it anymore,” said Lorretta Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, in a speech to strikers, who later marched through the streets of the city, led by a high school marching band. “What you’ve done is send a message across this country, and we heard it loud and clear.”
The crowd, which included some teachers and union supporters from Wisconsin and Minnesota, shook homemade protest signs in the air and wore the signature red T-shirts of the Chicago Teachers Union as they descended on Union Park, just west of downtown. The city skyline rose behind a stage from which a lineup of politicians, teachers, students and activists gave speeches about union strength and the need for better school conditions in the city.
“Brothers and sisters, we did not start this fight,” Karen Lewis, the president of the teachers union in Chicago, said in a speech that was halted more than once as the crowd chanted “Karen Lewis for Mayor.”
“You are asking us to do wrong to children, and that’s why we’re here,” Ms. Lewis added. “And I don’t think people understand that.”
Many people in Chicago began the weekend with renewed hope that the strike was nearing an end after news emerged Friday that the outlines of an agreement had been reached by negotiators. Both sides suggested that the 350,000 children who have been kept out of their classrooms could be back in school as soon as Monday, just a week after the walkout began.
Still, with many details of the agreement unknown to the public, and even to teachers, union members seemed uneasy about being overly optimistic — and they were not yet ready to stop voicing their grievances about Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s education policies.
“Until it’s signed on the line, we’re still going to fight,” said Julie Gabrick, a physical education teacher on the city’s Northwest Side. “We’re not going to give up that quick. We’ve been flexing our muscles all week and we’re going to keep at it until the bitter end.”
The weekend rally caps nearly a week of protests by teachers who have picketed at schools and marched in downtown streets. All the while, back-and-forth negotiations led to a series of mixed signals from the union and school board about how talks were progressing. Just days ago, union officials described the two sides as “miles apart,” suggesting that the largest political crisis of Mr. Emanuel’s first mayoral term could drag on, even as parents dreaded the thought of another week of scrambling to find emergency child care.
But on Friday, union leaders and schools officials announced that the outlines of an agreement had been reached. If negotiators can get the deal in writing this weekend, the union will most likely try to get approval from its nearly 800-member leadership body on Sunday to lift the strike. That could get students and teachers back into the classrooms by Monday, union officials said.
The Saturday event, however, gave little attention to negotiations that continued in a downtown law office just a mile away. Instead, it emphasized the power of unions in Chicago and across the nation, which many here say have been under siege in recent years.
“You have proven to the world that you’re not going to take it anymore,” said Lorretta Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, in a speech to strikers, who later marched through the streets of the city, led by a high school marching band. “What you’ve done is send a message across this country, and we heard it loud and clear.”