If you don't remember Rahm Emmanuel's history let Times Online remind you in their article from back on November 7th 2008 "Life imitates West Wing for Obama's attack dog Rahm Emanuel".


September 10, 2011

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis says Mayor Rahm Emanuel “exploded” at her during a conversation in his office about his signature longer-school-day effort, pointing his finger at her, yelling and telling her, “F--- you, Lewis.”

“I just want to call it immense disrespect for me and the Chicago Teachers Union,’’ Lewis told the Chicago Sun-Times Friday. “I didn’t appreciate the way he talked to me.

 

“My father never talked to me like that. My husband’s never talked to me like that.”

Emanuel — long known for his salty rants — would not go into specifics Friday about the exchange, and said the meeting weeks ago ended with a hug from Lewis.

“I’m not going to get into a he-said, she-said. We had a good meeting. It was not a long meeting. We talked about a longer school day and we talked about focusing on elementary kids,” the mayor said.

“To tell the truth, she hugged me at the end of the meeting.”

The revelations came as Chicago Public Schools announced William H. Brown Elementary had become the fifth school to break with the CTU and agree to a teacher contract waiver that adds 90 minutes to the school day, starting Sept. 26.

It followed by one day a CTU suit filed with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, charging CPS with coercing teachers into approving waivers and conducting “sham elections” with non-union members.

At some schools, the suit charged, teachers were warned of possible layoffs or school closures if a waiver was defeated. At one, a principal allegedly offered teachers “comp time” and iPads to approve a longer day.

Emanuel made a longer CPS day and year a cornerstone of his campaign and even helped insert language into a new school reform bill to ensure CPS could unilaterally add classroom time after the current teachers contract expires June 30. Until then, schools can only move to a longer school day if their teachers vote to waive the contract — something CPS has said would bring those teachers a two percent pay increase and schools an additional $75,000 to $150,000 in funding.

“If it’s right in 2012, it’s right now,” Emanuel told reporters Friday following a press event with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and crafters of the new reform law at Schurz High School. “Why would we have the children of the city of Chicago have one more year in which they fall farther behind?”

CTU officials have questioned how the system can afford a longer day after refusing to pay any portion of a previously negotiated four percent teacher raise.

City Council members approved a resolution Thursday offering support to the longer-day effort. Even long-time labor ally Ald. Ed Burke (14th) said he was “starting to get embarrassed” by the response of CTU leaders.

Lewis has contended the union is doing research on how best to add to the school day next school year and she does not want to be publicly “bullied” into a slapdash plan this school year.

 

Full Article: Suntimes.com