'Obi-Wan Karen' Lewis Tells Teachers Union To Use The Force Against CPS Layoffs

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Feb 10, 2016 8:40PM

The Chicago Teachers Union is staring down over $100 million in Chicago Public Schools budget cuts, layoffs, threats of a state schools takeover and an unworkable teachers contract.

But somehow union leaders still have a sense of humor, as evidenced by this unexpected video shared on social media Tuesday of CTU president Karen Lewis wielding a lightsaber in a Jedi getup:

"No economic layoffs. Enforceable class size," Lewis says in an ominous voice in the video, accompanied by the message: Obi-Wan Karen has a message for the Board of Ed. The Force is with us!! #faircontractnow. Below, a Facebook user who identifies herself as a school counselor describes how she was just laid off.

"I just found out that I am getting laid off from a CPS school at the end of the month. I open up Facebook and see THIS?"

"Very sorry to hear about this," the teachers union Facebook account replied. "But this post has nothing to do with our ability to protect your rights as a teacher. Please contact your field rep ASAP or call the office at 312-329-9100."

Indeed. Fortunately, the video is not the union's only response to the troubling announcement that CPS will cut $120 million from school budgets, in part, officials say, due to the lack of a union contract agreement. The teachers union calls the news "unnecessary and retaliatory:"

“The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has worked for more than a year seeking a serious contract offer from Chicago Public Schools. After just three weeks of negotiations, the district made an offer that relied on a reduction of more than 2,000 educators from the system, made no provision against subsequent ballooning class sizes and included nothing but the vaguest indicators of where new revenue would be found. More importantly, the terms of that offer would not have impacted the current school year or existing school budgets in any way, so we find CPS’ reduction in school budgets by $120 million unnecessary and completely retaliatory, and not at all evident of some urgent crisis in our schools.

Union reps also said in a statement that the district "has finally begun negotiating in earnest" and that CTU is still working toward a contract agreement. They also called for a "school-by-school breakdown" of the budget adjustments.

The public schools' chief Forrest Claypool called the cuts "painful" but essential Tuesday:

“These painful reductions are not the steps that we want to take, but they are the steps we must take as our cash position becomes tighter every day—especially as the District relies on short-term financing to pay its bills," a CPS press release from Tuesday says. "We are doing everything in our power to sustain the gains our students are making in their classrooms.”