The recent Chicago Teachers’ Union organizing against police presence in schools showcases the potential impact of social justice unionism. In the 2019 strike, the union had four major issues: class size, staffing, salaries, and “justice for students and families” (Henderson 2019). Teachers in Chicago drew attention to matters far beyond salary to broad social justice topics, fighting for student health, safety for immigrants, affordable housing, and against systemic racism. One of the most striking features of the Chicago Teachers’ strike was the community support for the teachers. In one interview for the New York Times, Chicago mother Juliet de Jesus Alejandre said she had taken a few days off work to look after her 8-year-old twin boys. Despite this, she said she was “pleased that more social workers and nurses would be assigned to schools, and credited the teachers with forcing an overdue conversation about racial equity” (Smith 2019). Families across the city saw the strike as advocating for the wellbeing of their children and community. The battle in Chicago was representative of an effort to democratize the Chicago Teachers Union and place it on the frontlines of the fight for an education system focusing on the needs of the children and their teachers rather than corporations’ needs. This philosophy continued during the 2020 march, CTU saw that the Black Lives Matter movement was embedded in the work they do for their students. They knew the oppression Black students face continued into their school buildings, and used their power to change Chicago schools for the better. Through their organizing, Chicago educators continue to demonstrate effective social justice unionism. The 2019 strike and the 2020 march are only two examples of the impact CTU has had on Chicago Public Schools. CTU organizing against police presence in schools shows the power of social justice unionism, and the fights that can be won when teachers unions ally themselves with the struggles of the communities they’re in.

Image: Goldstein, D. (2019, October 24). It’s More Than Pay: Striking Teachers Demand Counselors and Nurses. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/us/chicago-strike-support-staff.html