By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org
    
CHICAGO – The radical Chicago Teachers Union leadership has announced that the number of “yes” votes cast in last week’s membership poll “well surpassed” the 75 percent necessary to authorize the union to strike in the fall.
    
A union spokeswoman said the vote tally will give CTU officials more leverage at the bargaining table this summer, according to a report published by the Muscatine Journal. The union and the city are trying to work out the details of a new collective bargaining agreement, and if one isn’t approved by the new school year, a strike now seems likely.
    
There’s only one problem. Union officials openly asked for a “yes” vote from members, and they counted the votes themselves, with no independent oversight. Even worse, they did not release a final tally of the vote.
    
CTU officials expect everyone to take their word that the vast majority of Chicago teachers are prepared to walk out on students and paralyze the school district in the fall.
    
This points out a glaring oversight in Illinois state law. A recently adopted statute forces Chicago teachers to give three-fourths approval to go on strike (which is a higher percentage than required in school districts in the rest of state), but it doesn’t require a fair and independent tally of the votes.
    
We don’t trust the CTU and we think it would be foolish for anyone to take its word on this crucial issue. We hope city officials and residents will demand that the union allows someone from the outside to come in and do a recount, just for verification.
    
The people who want a strike should not be entrusted to count the strike votes. That would be like allowing the Democratic National Committee to count the votes in November’s presidential election.