The teachers strike in Chicago (discussed by fellow Hitchhiker Sam Alavi
here) has now come to an end. The teachers did not emerge completely victorious, but having resolved at least an acceptable amount of the issues with their contract (with the ratification of the end result by the 26,000 members of the union incomplete, but anticipated) union president Karen Lewis admits that
"it was time to suspend the strike". Happily, this will allow the students of Chicago public schools to rejoin their classmates and commence their studies once more (though certainly many of them quietly appreciated the time off. Students can be greedy about sleep).
Despite this compromise, however, some worry that the issues will remain prominent, and that the problem that brought on the strike is not completely solved.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel certainly seems content with the outcome, but others argue that somewhat of a schism has occurred, and therefore that cooperation in the future will be difficult, and more problems will arise.
On a more national level, Obama seems to have emerged from the issue relatively unscathed, although there were suggestions that his campaign would be somehow
damaged by the issue due to his connections with Chicago and Mayor Emanuel. Is this matter grounds for criticizing Obama, however? Or if not now, does it have the potential to harm or in some way affect him in the future?
2 comments:
I previously commented on Sam's article that I didn't think that the teacher's strike would have any significant impact on Obama's election campaign. However, over the weekend, I read a Times article (and I wish I could link to it...but you have to be a subscriber in order to access the article) which had a valid and interesting argument.
The article stated that, with a national 8% unemployment rate, the American people have not been extremely sympathetic of the employed Chicago teachers who are complaining about a 16% raise. Because the Democratic Party is so supportive of unions, this strike of supposedly ungrateful teachers also casts an unpleasant light on the Party and President Obama.
I thought this point was extremely valid and worth sharing. Perhaps this strike can negatively impact Obama’s campaign after all.
I agree with Sally; originally, I also didn't think the strike would affect Obama's campaign, but after reading more articles discussing the end of the strike, I think there may be some impact on the election. Not only does the strike make the teachers seem ungrateful, but concerned parents of the students who will have to deal with the aftermath of the strike will also be upset. In addition, the fact that the strike occurred in Obama's hometown may have a larger impact on the situation than if the strike had taken place in a different city. Consequently, the negative appearance of a group generally supported by the Democratic Party will possibly hinder Obama's campaign.
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