Chicago, IL – On the snowy Thursday evening of November 21, the chambers of the Chicago Temple were heated up by the fighting spirits of over 1500 school staff, students and community members. The rally was organized by the Chicago Teachers Union to demand the settlement of its contract with Chicago Public Schools, which is made more urgent by Trump's intentions to dismantle the federal Department of Education.

“We need leadership of Chicago Public Schools who will protect us from Trump and his troops,” declared CTU President Stacy Davis Gates.

Four months after the expiration of the 2019 contract, CPS, under the leadership of CEO Pedro Martinez, has refused to budge on many of CTU’s contract proposals which would defend Chicago’s public schools from Trump's racist, bigoted and anti-education agenda.

“We need this contract before January 20 so we can protect our local communities from federal attacks,” said Corey Blake, a music teacher and co-chair of CTU’s LGBTQIA+ Committee.

Speakers also connected Trump's policies to the decades long neoliberal campaign to defund public schools all over the country, which has manifested in hundreds of school closures in Chicago since 2000.

“If Trump succeeds, many more schools will have to close,” said Angelica Jaurez, a parent at Fuentes Elementary School.

In October, Acero Charter Schools announced plans to close seven of its campuses, including Fuentes, by the end of the school year, a decision which would leave 2000 students and 200 teachers without a school.

The instability and lack of accountability of charter schools like Acero is the future envisioned by Trump and others who want to dismantle the public school system. In opposition are CTU and its contract demands, which Southside high school student organizer Catelyn Savado described as “a love letter to the people of Chicago.”

CTU brought 750 proposals to the bargaining table in April on issues ranging from raises that keep up with inflation, to restorative justice and improving school buildings. Neoliberal politicians and corporate media have criticized the contract proposals for demanding too much money from the city. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez sent a mass email on the day of the rally complaining about the increases to the school budget that the contract proposals would necessitate.

CTU responded by explaining how negotiations have advanced beyond Martinez's description, which they referred to as “a reckless PR stunt” in a statement released on Friday, and speakers at the Thursday rally argued that the contract proposals simply address the needs of Chicago's children.

6th Ward Alderman William Hall outlined the contradiction between the budgetary priorities of the Chicago neoliberal establishment and the needs of the people, stating, “We have $1.5 billion for prisons, yet we still can't find $1 billion to educate our children.”

Speakers also highlighted previous contract victories that CTU won through militant action, including air conditioning in schools, smaller class sizes, and sanctuary schools for immigrant families. While the CTU has an ally rather than an enemy in the mayor’s office for the first time in decades, they are still facing neoliberal politicians, CPS bureaucracy and millions of corporate dollars organized through right-wing groups like the Illinois Policy Institute and the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

“Be encouraged when they send millions of dollars to beat you because they're scared of you,” Teachers Pension Fund Trustee Quentin Washington said about the $6 million spent by INCS and similar organizations on the November 5 school board elections. Despite being vastly outspent, candidates supported by the CTU-led Our Schools Coalition won four of ten elected positions as opposed to three won by charter school interests.

“Republicans, right wingers, and neoliberals do not get to win,” Savado said. “One thing we have that they don't have is people power!”

“From Gaza to Little Village to Altgeld and all over the country, the children are all ours, every single one of them, and it is our duty to fight for all of them,” said music teacher Kathryn Zamarrón, describing the need for solidarity between local, national and international struggles.

“The call to action is not just to tweet or cry and hug about it. The call to action is solidarity,” said Davis Gates, summing up the fighting unity between the many diverse communities represented by the rally’s speakers and crowd.

After the rally, the union members and supporters marched several blocks to Federal Plaza. Chants demanding a fair contract and calling for Pedro Martinez to “get out the way” echoed through the downtown streets.

CTU aims to settle this contract using tactics of militance and solidarity, and wants it done before Trump's inauguration on January 20, a day which will see protests in Washington DC, Chicago and around the U.S.

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