Chicago has been the cradle of the country's modern labor movement since May 1, 1886, when workers agitating for an eight-hour workday fought with police in what's since become known as the Haymarket Riots. And for decades, union leaders and activists around the world have used the anniversary of those riots as a day to demonstrate in favor of workers' rights. Now, 140 years later, the question of how - or whether - Chicago's public schools should commemorate that day appears to have opened a rift between the district's newly-confirmed permanent superintendent and members of the Board of Education.
At the center of this dispute is a powerful entity in the city's political orbit: the Chicago Teachers Union, which under the leadership of President Stacy Davis Gates has become a vocal champion of progressive causes ... and which has a prominent ally in Mayor (and former teacher and CTU organizer) Brandon Johnson. The union has joined other labor organizations in a call for a "Day Of Action" on this year's May Day, urging people to refrain from shopping, working or attending school in what amounts to a national strike intended to protest actions and policies of the Trump Administration.
CTU leaders say its bargaining team negotiated a day off on Friday, May 1 in its current contract with CPS, but the contract was ratified after the Board finalized the school calendar, which lists May 1 as an instruction day. And as May Day approaches, the union has increased its pressure on the district to observe its Day Of Action, which leaders have proposed would include curricula covering everything from the history of the labor movement to discussion of social justice issues.
CPS superintendent Dr. Macquline King, who the board just voted to hire as the district's permanent CEO, put out a memo this week telling staff members and others that classes would be held on May 1. That sparked an official grievance from the union, whose leaders used their time during Wednesday's agenda review meeting to lobby the Board on the matter. "Our students and families need and deserve this opportunity to engage in the things they care most about," CTU vice president Jackson Potter said. "That's an opportunity to share our collective voice."
And after that meeting went into closed session, a majority of Board members ... most of whom were appointed by Mayor Johnson and are backed by CTU ... directed Dr. King to change the district's calendar to move a planned "professional development" day from June to May 1. That change left other members of the Board fuming. "It's entirely political," elected member and candidate for board president Jennifer Custer told me Thursday afternoon. "This is about what the adults in the room want, and the consideration given to the students is next to nothing."
However, late Thursday evening, the district posted a message from Dr. King on its website, again insisting that her position is to maintain May 1 as a classroom instruction day. "As a career educator, I believe that every minute in the classroom is vital for students," she said, placing the responsibility for changing the calendar with the Board of Education. "(It) may convene a special Board meeting for a formal vote on this matter," she added.
