NEWS & EVENTS (BenOrtiz.com)
The Local 1600 '04 strike ended, but a fight to reinstate and protect Truman teachers against disciplinary action continues this Thursday, November 18, with a rally outside the building (sigh, again!) on 1145 West Wilson at 4:30pm.
Read an open letter from a Truman College student to the entire community, and download a rally flyer here.
From a Truman College student...
The CCC administration has upped reprisals against students and teachers in the wake of our fight during the three week strike of Local 1600. Action is needed from people immediately to prevent a victory for rank and file teachers and students from turning into bitter anger throughout the student body and CCC faculty. The reason for these reprisals is payback for an administration that feels they lost the strike!
On Thursday at Truman College there will be a Rally Against Reprisals. Everyone needs to get the word out about this rally at their respective colleges. A flyer called "reprisals.doc" has been added to this post. Please download one (below), make as many copies for your students or class mates, and get these flyers out! We need as many people as possible who supported the strike and were affected by the strike at Truman on Thursday, including all of you paying the price for your solidarity. The timing of the Rally will coincide with the disciplinary hearings of two Truman adult educators, Earl Silbar and Ron Johnson.
In addition to the direct reprisals, there is also going to be a nursing fee hike of $900/year. Chicago City College administration is blaming this on the pay increases of striking nursing teachers. "Nursing student fees have been raised as a result of the increase in pay for nursing clinical teachers," was the quote today from Angela Starks, CCC Executive Director-Nursing Department. This is taking place immediately after the administration wrote themselves a 3% raise!
There is much at stake in our work for the next year. If teachers and students look back on the strike as fighting back the most horrible of administration demands through mobilization, solidarity and direct action, then greater teacher/student power will be built for all of our other issues in the future (contract negotiations, tuition hikes, free speech on campus). These schools are not the private property of City Hall and the administration. They are the property of the people and are now increasingly under attack. For the sake of cross-union strength, student morale and the future of these public institutions, we need to stand up to the reprisals against striking teachers and all of their supporters.
Please let us know what you are doing on your campus to build for Thursday. Also let us know of any reprisals going on in your campus. Let’s keep people in touch and in power over the next year. Thanks for the effort.
Sincerely,
Cliff Willmeng
Truman Solidarity Committee
(773) 968-7797
iwwhammer@ameritech.net