Teachers Strike and Chicago Spring Offensive

On April 1, 2016, the Chicago Teachers Union called for a one day strike which was accompanied by numerous mobilizations of other organizations from all over the city fighting against withheld state funding in education and social services, increased police repression, low wages in fast food restaurants, etc.

This so-called Chicago Spring Offensive included activists from Fight for 15 McDonald's, the Chicago Students Union, Black Lives Matter, transit workers, workers at the Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago State University, City Colleges of Chicago, O'Hare Airport workers, Nabisco workers, and more.

During the strike actions and other mobilizations, Labor Beat interviewed various activists and supporters who express their anger, voice their demands, or simply explain what a life with low wages, a heavy work load, the threat of unemployment, or racist discrimination means.