Parents show support for striking Chicago teachers

CHICAGO -- As teachers walked the picket lines for a second day, they were joined by many of the very people who are most inconvenienced by their walkout: the parents who must scramble to find a place for children to pass the time or for babysitters.

Mothers and fathers, some with their kids in tow, marched with the teachers. Other parents honked their encouragement from cars and planted yard signs that announce their support in English and Spanish.

Unions are still hallowed organizations in Chicago, and the teachers union holds a special place of honor in many households where children often grow up to join the same police, firefighter or trade unions as their parents and grandparents.

Karen Lewis, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, addressing a rally in the Loop, dashed hopes of a quick settlement. "To say that the contract will be settled today is lunacy," she told cheering teachers. Lewis said the two sides remained far apart.

"The assault on public education started here. It needs to end here," Lewis said, addressing the crowd as "brothers and sisters."

"We did not start this fight," Lewis said, touching off a chant from the crowd of "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Rahm Emanuel has got to go!" Emanuel is the mayor.

"I'm going to stay strong, behind the teachers," said the Rev. Michael Grant, who joined teachers on the picket line. "My son says he's proud, 'You are supporting my teacher.' "

The question looming over the contract talks is whether parents will continue to stand behind teachers if students are left idle for days or weeks.

Mary Bryan, the grandmother of two students at Shoop Academy on the city's far South Side, supports the teachers because she sees "the frustration, the overwork they have." A protracted labor battle, she said, would "test the support" of many families.

The union has engaged in something of a publicity campaign, telling parents repeatedly about problems with schools and the barriers that make it difficult to serve their kids. They cite classrooms that are stifling hot without air conditioning, books that are not available and supplies as basic as toilet paper that are sometimes in short supply. With Chicago Tribune