BALTIMORE, MD, September 11 — “Stop Bill Gates and the billionaire Gestapo! Support the strike by teachers in Chicago!” This was one of the many chants that rang out as teachers and students rallied outside a public high school here.
Rally participants were constantly re-energized by the enthusiastic honking of drivers in many of the trucks and cars that passed by, showing solidarity with striking educators in Chicago.
Some participants at the rally liked it so much that they wanted to organize another one at their own school, or have one every day in the same location, or plan a similar strike-support rally outside the Baltimore school headquarters. Working-class solidarity became truly infectious!
PL’ers here have plans to attend these rallies and to present participants communist ideas and how educational genocide — embodied in Race-to-the-Bottom — is rooted in capitalism, a system that needs to be defeated by revolution and replaced with communism.
Then education will truly be run by and for the working class, not serve the parasitic needs of billionaires like Bill Gates who think the current nine percent of the gross national product that’s spent on education is too much.
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NEW YORK CITY, September 10 — “Chicago Teachers Got It Right, Strike, Strike, Strike!”
“New York City, Chicago, Wisconsin, We Will Fight and We Will Win!”
“Listen Up, CTU, New York City Stands With You!”
These chants echoed loudly when more than 400 teachers and labor supporters rallied in Union Square in support of the Chicago Teachers Union strike. Speakers promised to build support in their schools and workplaces. Led by a banner (see picture) saying “Solidarity With Chicago Teachers Union Local 1,” we then marched to the NYC offices of Democrats for Education Reform, a group that was created and led by billionaire hedge fund managers. It has attacked Chicago teachers and their union for daring to resist their corporate reform program.