CHICAGO — Leaders in the Chicago Teachers Union are holding out for a contract that will meet their demands while preventing hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts and layoffs, and they seem to be having at least a bit of fun while they do it.
The union's official Twitter account shot off a 10-second video Tuesday afternoon showing CTU President Karen Lewis cloaked in full Jedi getup while waving a toy light saber ... complete with sound effects.
Obi-Wan Karen has a message for the Board of Ed. The Force is with us! #faircontractnow pic.twitter.com/xLNjkSvHIn
— ChicagoTeachersUnion (@CTULocal1) February 9, 2016
Trying to channel the stoic Obi-Wan Kenobi, blue saber and all, Lewis opted not to use Jedi mind tricks to assure CPS negotiators "This is not the contract you're looking for." Instead, she chose a more esoteric route:
"No economic layoffs," Lewis intones, citing labor stipulations she believes will restore balance to the force. "Enforceable class size."
She then gives the saber another few menacing waves for good measure.
Union officials Tuesday called the district's latest announcement of budget cuts "unnecessary and completely retaliatory," rebuking CPS CEO Forrest Claypool in his quest for unlimited powah.
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