October 18, 2019

UUP members are joining with their statewide and national affiliates in a strong show of support for striking Chicago teachers, by wearing red—the color of solidarity—and joining union colleagues on social media.

“I urge you to show solidarity with their job action and their struggle for justice, by wearing red on Friday, Oct. 18, and by using the social media of your choice to signal to the nation that union members stand united,” UUP President Fred Kowal wrote to members Oct. 17, the day that more than 30,000 educators in the nation’s third-largest school system went on strike.

UUP statewide officers, leaders and staff did indeed proudly turn out in red Friday (see photo above), as did members at chapters around the state.

UUP members around the state participated in a “town hall call” about the strike with the American Federation of Teachers that had 62,000 participants. AFT President Randi Weingarten joined the striking teachers, noting that “Educators in Chicago want the same thing educators who have walked off the job all across this country want: the resources to give their students what they need.”

Teachers have emphasized that their strike is to call attention to what they describe as astonishingly inadequate conditions in schools, with very few resources, such as nurses or counselors available across the city.

The AFT website, at AFT.org, has information on how to donate to the striking teachers, and a “Take Action” box for sending a letter to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot that urges her to negotiate a fair contract now.

UUP members posted photos on social media Friday showing their support for the teachers; many of them wore red.

UUP members can use the following hashtags to help build the movement:

#PutItInWriting

#FairContractNow

#FundOurFuture

#ChiParksStrike

Members can also tag the following:

@CTULocal1

@SharkeyCTU1 (Jesse Sharkey, CTU Local 1 President)

@stacydavisgates (Stacy Davis Gates, CTU Local 1 Vice President)

@ChicagosMayor (Mayor Lori Lightfoot)

@rweingarten (Randi Weingarten, AFT National President)

@SEIU73 (SEIU Local 73, Chicago affiliate representing CPS school support staff)