Nation’s First Teachers’ Strike at Charter Network Begins in Chicago

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has hailed the first large strike by teachers at Chicago charter schools. Charter schools are operated by private entities but funded by public school budgets, draining funds from other public schools. But Weingarten says the charters must be organized. “‘This activism is contagious,'' said Weingarten. After “a couple of decades of being the shiny new object,” she said, the charter school movement is experiencing an adolescence. “They are now in a different generation,” she added. “They're going through growing pains, and what you're seeing in a bunch of the different charter schools is that teachers are saying we want to make a career helping kids in this structure, but we need to have the conditions kids need and the pay we need.”