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Not surprisingly, at least some of the student protesters had no idea why they were there or what they were protesting. These kids simply look up to their teachers and assume they are right about everything, and the union is willing to exploit their naiveté for its own purposes.
One student, when asked what his sign meant, replied that he didn't know and "some lady" gave it to him.
Students weren’t the only guests on the union picket lines Monday. The strikers were joined by a supportive collection of political radicals, including some who proudly wore Che Guevara t- shirts and hoisted anarchist flags. See that video here .
We thought this was a teachers strike, not a rally for a socialist revolution. Perhaps there is no difference between the two anymore.
One radical hoisting a flag explained it stood for "revolutionary unionism" and that strong unions can stand up to "capitalists." He said the CTU has leaders who were elected on a "syndicalist" platform.
Wikipedia states:
"Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses Confederations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions. It is a form of socialist economic corporatism that advocates interest aggregation of multiple non-competitive categorized units to negotiate and manage an economy."
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Translation: government of the unions, by the unions and for the unions.
Another protester, who was possibly intoxicated, said the strikers were fighting for air conditioning for Chicago schools and that it was "inhumane" for them not to have it. He also alleged "Caucasian" schools have it while "African-American, Hispanic" schools do not."
The union has urged its members (and presumably the friendly radicals) not to talk to the media. The ones who have done so should probably stop.
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