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Chicago Teachers Union Essay

Decent Essays

On April 1, 2016, members of the Chicago Teachers Union plan to walk off from their jobs in what they are calling a “day of action.” The members of the union are hoping that the walk-off will help the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois recognize the need for greater education funding. Labor conditions have become unbearable for these Chicago teachers to handle. Due to lack of funding to the school system, there have been school closures, budget cuts, and teachers have even been asked to take three unpaid days off in attempts for the district to save approximately $30 million. The Chicago Teachers Union protestors are hoping that their walk-off will result in higher funding for the school system, which will help re-build the education system in the city …show more content…

I also have a mother who is a teacher and belongs to a teacher’s union. From both of my parents, I have seen first-hand the good, the bad, and the ugly of unions in the public sector. From my mother, I have learned that she, along with every other teacher, would not have the benefits and the pay she has now, had it not been for the union fighting for those benefits and wages. I have witnessed that teachers get more and more work thrown on them, have more and more added to their plates, yet receive no compensation for the additional work required of them. Without the teacher’s union, the teachers have no voice and no one to fight for their benefits or their wages. While I have been witness to how important and helpful unions are to teachers, I have also learned how corrupt the unions have become from my father’s time as a union rep. Unions were created to help bring balance and equality, however, unions tend to over-compensate superiors, while under-compensating the smaller, hard-working people who tend to put in much more time and effort into their jobs.
All-in-all, I would say my opinion is this: if unions were actually what they were

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