With the Chicago teachers' strike now a thing of the past, one conservative watchdog group says the union came out the clear winner it its fight with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the school board.
Steve Gunn of the Education Action Group Foundation (EAG) believes the settlement with the Chicago Teachers Union is a setback for public education. He says Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the school board "waved the white flag of surrender and sold out the children of Chicago."
"It looks to us as though Mayor Emanuel and the school board said we'll give you whatever you want. We won't hold you accountable for your job performance; we don't care if the kids learn. We just want you off the streets and back in the classroom, because this looks bad for President Obama's reelection campaign," Gunn states. "That's pretty much how we see this situation."
He asserts that unions in other large cities that host many of the country's worst schools are watching closely.
"In most cities and states like that, public officials are putting pressure on to increase student performance and increase teacher accountability," he explains. "They've been watching Chicago to see whether they should give in to those demands, or whether it's worth fighting. Apparently the message they got is it's worth fighting."
Gunn hopes Illinois legislators will do what 37 other states have done already: pass a law banning teacher walkouts.