Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
From a reader: "Did you know that the Chicago Teacher's Union won't be at the Bud Billiken Parade this year? I was wondering if this was the first time that the union won't be participating. I was also wondering how people feel about CPS teachers and staff not being a part of the largest back to school parade in the world. I don't think this is a good time to be "invisible", considering all the drama lately with school turnarounds and the infighting at the CTU headquarters. I am a teacher and a union delegate, I will be at the parade. Will I be the only one from the union? Please consider posting this topic to get some feedback."
Anyone know more about this. The union is listed as a sponsor here.
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Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 5:00 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Nothing on the CTU Website.
No mailing to members.
No phone calls or robocalls.
Sounds like Bud Billiken has been snubbed by the Stewart Faction of the Chicago Teachers Union in August 2008.
If Marilyn Stewart is truant from Bud Billiken tomorrow (and has carried CTU along), it may be the first time since CTU consolidated in its present form (late 1960s, with the combination of the Civil Rights people into the Black Caucus and into the leadership at the time of the formation of the United Progressive Caucus) that CTU boycotted Bud Billiken.
When I was reviewing these things, I never saw much record of CTU participation in Bud Billiken prior to the 1960s, although some people told me that many teachers were participating all along. The question is CTU. The union's leadership way back (from the 1930s to the 1960s) may have been militant on some things but had a significant white blindspot (to use DuBois's phrase) about many others. If you were looking for stable integration at all levels in Chicago unions prior to 1960s, you had to go, for example, to the old "Flat Janitors Union" (that became SEIU Local 1). Other unions were also integrated at all levels (including top leadership), but CTU wasn't one of them, as all the old photographs show.
If CTU is going to be in Bud Billiken in 2008, everything has already been scheduled and prepared, and long ago. The Chicago Police Department held its final Bud Billiken briefing yesterday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Police Headquarters. CTU should have been lighting up the e-mails long before now about the parade.
If Marilyn and her merry band of incompetents have succeeded in ending a tradition that went back at least 40 years, that's a major stupidity (the latest, among many). And let's not let her get away with that "There is no money nonsense." For an event as significant to Chicago as Bud Billiken, all she would have had to do was take some time out from that obsessive and expensive factionalism she's been doing for the past year and make an appeal for funds.
Even families as financially pinched as those whose main jobs are as substitute teachers (I can think of one) would have kicked in.
After all, Bud Billiken was precisely for people who didn't have too many dollars to string together, so the idea was everyone kick in a little bit. If CTU isn't marching proudly down King Drive tomorrow (and getting some of the largest cheers, which the teachers always have gotten) it's a major scandal within the union.
No mailing to members.
No phone calls or robocalls.
Sounds like Bud Billiken has been snubbed by the Stewart Faction of the Chicago Teachers Union in August 2008.
If Marilyn Stewart is truant from Bud Billiken tomorrow (and has carried CTU along), it may be the first time since CTU consolidated in its present form (late 1960s, with the combination of the Civil Rights people into the Black Caucus and into the leadership at the time of the formation of the United Progressive Caucus) that CTU boycotted Bud Billiken.
When I was reviewing these things, I never saw much record of CTU participation in Bud Billiken prior to the 1960s, although some people told me that many teachers were participating all along. The question is CTU. The union's leadership way back (from the 1930s to the 1960s) may have been militant on some things but had a significant white blindspot (to use DuBois's phrase) about many others. If you were looking for stable integration at all levels in Chicago unions prior to 1960s, you had to go, for example, to the old "Flat Janitors Union" (that became SEIU Local 1). Other unions were also integrated at all levels (including top leadership), but CTU wasn't one of them, as all the old photographs show.
If CTU is going to be in Bud Billiken in 2008, everything has already been scheduled and prepared, and long ago. The Chicago Police Department held its final Bud Billiken briefing yesterday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Police Headquarters. CTU should have been lighting up the e-mails long before now about the parade.
If Marilyn and her merry band of incompetents have succeeded in ending a tradition that went back at least 40 years, that's a major stupidity (the latest, among many). And let's not let her get away with that "There is no money nonsense." For an event as significant to Chicago as Bud Billiken, all she would have had to do was take some time out from that obsessive and expensive factionalism she's been doing for the past year and make an appeal for funds.
Even families as financially pinched as those whose main jobs are as substitute teachers (I can think of one) would have kicked in.
After all, Bud Billiken was precisely for people who didn't have too many dollars to string together, so the idea was everyone kick in a little bit. If CTU isn't marching proudly down King Drive tomorrow (and getting some of the largest cheers, which the teachers always have gotten) it's a major scandal within the union.
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 8:04 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Every major Illinois Teachers Union has signed on to the Alliance to Protect The Illinois Constitution. They've taken on an unpopular stance to preserve our pensions:
http://protectillinoisconstitution.org/members.html
Notice the absence of the initials C, T, and U?
What efforts has the CTU made to block the constitutional convention?
http://ctunet.com/
Look in the lower left-hand corner.
I suppose if members of the Illinois General Assembly were specifically searching for the CTU's position, the could scroll down and see. Lobbying and grasssroots efforts have nothing on a little logo in the corner of a seldom-visited, member web-site.
I suppose when you have a SCAB working as your lobbyist, you get a SCAB's work in Springfield.
Duncan, Daley, et. al would love to see our pensions plundered. Who better to help them along the way than a SCAB who (by her inaction during the strike) effectively worked for the bosses when crossing the picket line.
When I talk about the things the CTU leadership does to its members, I think of a frat pledge in Animal House getting a paddlin'.
Thank you Marilyn, may I have another?
http://protectillinoisconstitution.org/members.html
Notice the absence of the initials C, T, and U?
What efforts has the CTU made to block the constitutional convention?
http://ctunet.com/
Look in the lower left-hand corner.
I suppose if members of the Illinois General Assembly were specifically searching for the CTU's position, the could scroll down and see. Lobbying and grasssroots efforts have nothing on a little logo in the corner of a seldom-visited, member web-site.
I suppose when you have a SCAB working as your lobbyist, you get a SCAB's work in Springfield.
Duncan, Daley, et. al would love to see our pensions plundered. Who better to help them along the way than a SCAB who (by her inaction during the strike) effectively worked for the bosses when crossing the picket line.
When I talk about the things the CTU leadership does to its members, I think of a frat pledge in Animal House getting a paddlin'.
Thank you Marilyn, may I have another?
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
I stopped going to it--so much pot in the air, I was getting high. Then, after the parade--it is a mess.
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 9:26 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Is anyone still going? I bet we can squeeze in there somewhere. Where your CTU red!
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
I've always wondered about events like this. What is the draw for the CTU to spend money on something like this? It's already enough that they spend millions on lobbyists and other agenda driven junk, but why would a CTU member want THEIR money spent on things like this?
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 10:56 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
To Mark, and anyone else with the same question. First of all, it doesn't have to cost money to be in the parade. More importantly, the parade is an opportunity to reach parents and students, which is very different than trying to reach politicians, via lobbyists. CTU has always gotten a good reception because parents and other members of the public recognize what an important and hard job we have. The mostly African American parents and community members who view and/or participate in this parade are our natural allies. That is why CTU non-participation is just another example of the lack of leadership being given by the current regime.
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Believe me, I am NOT defending President Ostenburg or his minion Marilyn but it does cost A LOT of money to participate in the BB parade...something like $10 grand excluding "gratuities" paid to street workers who position a float in the parade. Then there's the "float" cost...substantial. One would think Rosie and Nicky would give them a break from GoPromotions for all those $10 pencils they toss to the crowd, but they only have a limited amount of time to really rake in their commissions and graft payouts.
And if you believe Marilyn would walk 1 block much less 1 mile without parking her fanny pack on a seat on a float, think again! The "Leadership" inner circle...MS, RG and maybe MMG will probably be spending the time doing another spa day. At least that will cost the members less than the parade.
I LOVE their unity even if it only is 3 people vs. 30,000 members who will soon be facing another school year in fairly abhorent conditions!
Better that members show up at the Delegates Meeting September 3rd (which just so conveniently happens to be missing from the www.ctunet.com calendar along with every other important date including the start of the school year!)
Think about that $800 you spend every year on Union dues when you all are just trying to survive paycheck to paycheck which is also screwed up by the CPS software! Meanwhile, Marilyn and her friends will be jammin' to Sirious Radio and talking to their Onstar on your dollar.
And if you believe Marilyn would walk 1 block much less 1 mile without parking her fanny pack on a seat on a float, think again! The "Leadership" inner circle...MS, RG and maybe MMG will probably be spending the time doing another spa day. At least that will cost the members less than the parade.
I LOVE their unity even if it only is 3 people vs. 30,000 members who will soon be facing another school year in fairly abhorent conditions!
Better that members show up at the Delegates Meeting September 3rd (which just so conveniently happens to be missing from the www.ctunet.com calendar along with every other important date including the start of the school year!)
Think about that $800 you spend every year on Union dues when you all are just trying to survive paycheck to paycheck which is also screwed up by the CPS software! Meanwhile, Marilyn and her friends will be jammin' to Sirious Radio and talking to their Onstar on your dollar.
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 1:19 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
anyone doing any union work yet?
-- checking schedules
-- room assignments
-- class size
-- checking timely salaries and payments
need to start now before school starts so you are not made the villain. I always get started the first week of August and make sure I end my communications with:
These issues need to be resolved to prevent any disruptions to the educational process on the first day of classes.
Call, email and hand deliver all communications logging the date and time. In this way you can enforce the contract and working conditions of the staff.
1) have grievance forms handi.
2) set up some place your members can access info easily
3) need personal contact info of members to discuss specifics of violations and how to proceed
Here is our school delegate site
Union Information
Forms and Contract (searchable)
Grievance Authorization 08-09.pdf
Record of Missed Preparation Form.pdf
Referral to Class Size Panel.pdf
2007-2012 CPS-CTU Collective Bargaining Agreement.pdf
Send email
-- checking schedules
-- room assignments
-- class size
-- checking timely salaries and payments
need to start now before school starts so you are not made the villain. I always get started the first week of August and make sure I end my communications with:
These issues need to be resolved to prevent any disruptions to the educational process on the first day of classes.
Call, email and hand deliver all communications logging the date and time. In this way you can enforce the contract and working conditions of the staff.
1) have grievance forms handi.
2) set up some place your members can access info easily
3) need personal contact info of members to discuss specifics of violations and how to proceed
Here is our school delegate site
Union Information
Forms and Contract (searchable)
Grievance Authorization 08-09.pdf
Record of Missed Preparation Form.pdf
Referral to Class Size Panel.pdf
2007-2012 CPS-CTU Collective Bargaining Agreement.pdf
Send email
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Assume
Have we been invited to march this year? Perhaps that is the real problem
Have we been invited to march this year? Perhaps that is the real problem
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 2:19 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
ctu says it was a money decision
-- alexander
-- alexander
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 3:52 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Even if there is a financial issue, CTU should be participating in the parade. We don't need a car or a float, we can just march. Marilyn is not disabled as far as I know and should be able to walk along with the rest of the people. I know many people with disabilities who will be in the march. I agree that if they had asked the members many of us would have kicked in to have CTU represented. It's another example that Marilyn is trying to distance herself from both the membership and from the parents.
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 8:45 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
I'll be at 39th and King drive between 9 and 10:00. Look for the guy in red. Come on out.
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 9:44 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Wonder what the cost was for last years parade? Does anyone know what the float, t-shirts, hats, trinkets, barbecue, and all the other miscellaneous expenses totaled? Next question, was all that necessary? Anyone know? Maybe the billiken and the decisions behind the billikens over the years played a big role in the ctu's bankruptcy?
Fri Aug 8, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Hey, how much is Poltrock making due to the Dallas/Stewart conflict? All this extra legal work that would not have been there, if there was no strife? Maybe Poltrock is the one to blame along with Ostenberg? Can you imagine the food cost if Stewart, Ostenberg, and Poltrock sat down for dinner?
Sat Aug 9, 2008 at 6:16 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Al, I won't be there. I've been working "24/7" (or close to it) on that summer project we're getting up in Cyberspace, as you know. It's almost completed.
But Bud Billiken...
Hopefully there will be pictures.
The (low level) people at 125 S. Clark St. yesterday were asking whether we'd be there, with or without CTU. And tens of thousands of children would have enjoyed cheering their teachers, as everyone knows. So...
Arne Duncan will carry the "CPS" (and teacher power) banner for all of "us."
AAARRRGHHH!!!
One tenth the money CTU wasted on the Poltrocks during the past three years could have covered Bud Billiken.
The money (still a secret) that CTU paid to the lawyers over nearly four years to completely lose (eight plaintiffs, only one of whom was me) "Schmidt v. CTU" would have paid for Bud Billiken for years.
And had we been asked, I know we could have raised the money from the "Schmidt v. CTU" plaintiffs — and from a large group of retiree members I know — to cover any of the Bud Billiken costs for CTU. The would probably have been including a float so that not everyone had to walk those two miles on a hot (but nice) day. (The float is not just for lazy bloated bureaucrats, but also for those who want to be part of the parade but who no longer can make the full two to three miles; it depends on your starting and ending spots, remember).
Had there been competitive bidding for all the treasures CTU has produced and distributed (via "Go Promotions") over the years (right down to those silly red CTU fanny packs they couldn't give away at the July AFT convention), CTU could have given away thousands of more pencils and erasers -- which the children and parents appreciate along the route down King Drive. Or even some decent candy.
Instead, the children will be going home with pencils touting more privatization and marked "Renaissance 2010" thanks, again, to Marilyn Stewart's stupidities (deliberate plural, that).
Bud Billiken in Chicago is equal to or greater than St. Patrick's Day in size. It will certainly be as well policed as the "Taste" and the Fireworks were on July 4. Thursday, Jody Wiest held a special media briefing at Police Headquarters to go over the extra plans he had put into place so that "Billiken" doesn't become the reprise of all those mistakes from the Taste and Fireworks.
The fact that Mayor Daley is doing his junketing (along with President Bush) makes it even more friendly...
Today is just the latest major, stupid, frenetic, cheapskate blunder by Marilyn Stewart. And all the bucks stop with her, despite all the silly disclaimers.
But Bud Billiken...
Hopefully there will be pictures.
The (low level) people at 125 S. Clark St. yesterday were asking whether we'd be there, with or without CTU. And tens of thousands of children would have enjoyed cheering their teachers, as everyone knows. So...
Arne Duncan will carry the "CPS" (and teacher power) banner for all of "us."
AAARRRGHHH!!!
One tenth the money CTU wasted on the Poltrocks during the past three years could have covered Bud Billiken.
The money (still a secret) that CTU paid to the lawyers over nearly four years to completely lose (eight plaintiffs, only one of whom was me) "Schmidt v. CTU" would have paid for Bud Billiken for years.
And had we been asked, I know we could have raised the money from the "Schmidt v. CTU" plaintiffs — and from a large group of retiree members I know — to cover any of the Bud Billiken costs for CTU. The would probably have been including a float so that not everyone had to walk those two miles on a hot (but nice) day. (The float is not just for lazy bloated bureaucrats, but also for those who want to be part of the parade but who no longer can make the full two to three miles; it depends on your starting and ending spots, remember).
Had there been competitive bidding for all the treasures CTU has produced and distributed (via "Go Promotions") over the years (right down to those silly red CTU fanny packs they couldn't give away at the July AFT convention), CTU could have given away thousands of more pencils and erasers -- which the children and parents appreciate along the route down King Drive. Or even some decent candy.
Instead, the children will be going home with pencils touting more privatization and marked "Renaissance 2010" thanks, again, to Marilyn Stewart's stupidities (deliberate plural, that).
Bud Billiken in Chicago is equal to or greater than St. Patrick's Day in size. It will certainly be as well policed as the "Taste" and the Fireworks were on July 4. Thursday, Jody Wiest held a special media briefing at Police Headquarters to go over the extra plans he had put into place so that "Billiken" doesn't become the reprise of all those mistakes from the Taste and Fireworks.
The fact that Mayor Daley is doing his junketing (along with President Bush) makes it even more friendly...
Today is just the latest major, stupid, frenetic, cheapskate blunder by Marilyn Stewart. And all the bucks stop with her, despite all the silly disclaimers.
Sat Aug 9, 2008 at 7:16 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Money
No body answered my question yet. Have we been invited to participate?
I know if we had a union and money for the parade was a problem one
Phone call to the public relations people at Staples, Office Max, Office Depot
Might shake a few bucks loose especially if the arm-twister reminded them of all the money us teachers spend there. Corporate sponsorship would be available.
No body answered my question yet. Have we been invited to participate?
I know if we had a union and money for the parade was a problem one
Phone call to the public relations people at Staples, Office Max, Office Depot
Might shake a few bucks loose especially if the arm-twister reminded them of all the money us teachers spend there. Corporate sponsorship would be available.
Sat Aug 9, 2008 at 10:03 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
FYI....
I think the cost was about $30,000: tent food, float...
I think the cost was about $30,000: tent food, float...
Sat Aug 9, 2008 at 8:44 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
Going to the parade cost me 3 dollars. I bought a bag of peanuts and a Coke from a vendor who wasn't supposed to be selling on MLK drive.
Everyone else was there, Pepsico, Walgreens and McDonalds. There were thousands watching in attendance. I even saw a float sponsored by CPS loaded with central office big wigs and CPS security people. Yet, there was one important group that was missing, the CTU. What's the big deal? There were so many people, who noticed the teachers weren't there? Maybe that's the problem. If the Chicago Teacher's Union is absent from the Bud Billiken back to school parade, and no one noticed, what does that say about the union? Have we become so distant that we are invisible? It would have been worth the money to rent some buses, order a float and get a spot in the parade. We needed to be out there in front of the line showing parents, students and the Chicago Board of Education that we are here ready for another year. Well, maybe next year. As far as saving money goes, next year I'll buy my own barbecue from the unlicensed vendors who were banished from the parade by the city.
Everyone else was there, Pepsico, Walgreens and McDonalds. There were thousands watching in attendance. I even saw a float sponsored by CPS loaded with central office big wigs and CPS security people. Yet, there was one important group that was missing, the CTU. What's the big deal? There were so many people, who noticed the teachers weren't there? Maybe that's the problem. If the Chicago Teacher's Union is absent from the Bud Billiken back to school parade, and no one noticed, what does that say about the union? Have we become so distant that we are invisible? It would have been worth the money to rent some buses, order a float and get a spot in the parade. We needed to be out there in front of the line showing parents, students and the Chicago Board of Education that we are here ready for another year. Well, maybe next year. As far as saving money goes, next year I'll buy my own barbecue from the unlicensed vendors who were banished from the parade by the city.
Sat Aug 9, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
I heard the union had no money for a float in the parade. The money is being used for all those expensive dinners they have.
Mon Aug 11, 2008 at 6:40 AM
Will CTU March At Bud Billiken?
One way of looking at it is that the money CTU could have spent on good will at Bud Billiken went into the pockets of all those lawyers who've been losing cases the past year or four. Not only the phalanx (four) of lawyers Marilyn Stewart sends into court against Ted Dallas every couple of weeks, but the lawyers (at least three, maybe more) that she dispatched for nearly four years against my lawsuit.
Losers all, these litigators. Trouble is, lawyers never lose as long as they get paid.
For the money Marilyn's wasted on stupid attempts at lawyering the past five years, CTU could have had a float a block long and three marching bands at Bud Billiken. And the amazing thing is that the waste is continuing at this moment in the frantic attacks on Ted Dallas, both in court and before the Executive Board.
Losers all, these litigators. Trouble is, lawyers never lose as long as they get paid.
For the money Marilyn's wasted on stupid attempts at lawyering the past five years, CTU could have had a float a block long and three marching bands at Bud Billiken. And the amazing thing is that the waste is continuing at this moment in the frantic attacks on Ted Dallas, both in court and before the Executive Board.
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