Democratic socialists on front lines of teachers strike aim to ‘put the pressure on Mayor Lightfoot’

Members of the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America hit the streets Sunday to “put the pressure on Mayor Lightfoot” by canvassing the Northwest Side for striking Chicago Public Schools teachers and support staff.

The group, commonly known as Chicago DSA, has remained on the front lines of the strike, which has prompted the cancellation of a third day of classes for CPS students on Monday. During Sunday’s meeting at Chicago DSA’s modest Logan Square headquarters, about a dozen members of the chapter were preparing to curry public support by canvassing a series of brunch spots around Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s nearby home.

“After two strong days … on our 11 adopted picket lines — in addition to the rallies that have seen tens of thousands of people on Thursday and Friday — we want to make sure that we are not letting the support dwindle whatsoever and that there are going to be more members out on lines on Monday,” said Dan Cutter, co-chair of Chicago DSA’s labor branch.

Cutter urged his cohorts to continue to “put the pressure on Mayor Lightfoot” as members of the Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union Local 37 continue to strike. Will Bloom, a Chicago DSA member who is coordinating with the CTU, said a few of his comrades are also in the teachers union, noting that many of them are “very active” in Chicago DSA’s labor organizing branch.

Before Sunday’s canvassing push, Cutter urged members to emphasize the strike hasn’t been resolved and offered talking points to “counteract the propaganda offensive” from the mayor’s office.

“This isn’t about money. This is about class size. This is about having a nurse and a librarian in every single school in CPS … This is about the privatization of Aramark and Sodexo, where custodial services aren’t able to deal with rat and roach infestations in their schools because they’re not getting the resources to do so,” Cutter said.

While some of the activists looked to bolster support on Monday’s picket lines, others headed to buy food for brown bag lunches that will be doled out at elementary schools in Pilsen and Altgeld Gardens. The Chicago DSA and the nonprofit Chicago Jobs with Justice have raised $30,000 to feed both students and striking teachers, Bloom said.

The DSA’s influence on national and local politics has grown steadily since its membership ballooned during the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), whose current presidential bid is also being aided by the group’s grassroots efforts. Despite identifying as a Democratic Socialist, Sanders isn’t a dues-paying member of the group.

Following Sanders’ loss in the 2016 Democratic primary, the organization notched its most impressive electoral victories when DSA members and freshmen U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) were elected in last year’s midterms. The DSA and its various chapters now count over 50,000 members.

Meanwhile, Chicago DSA has used its organizing efforts to help elect six members to the City Council in a series of elections that have expanded its power in Chicago and effectively moved the body further left.

Following the April elections of Rossana Rodríguez-Sánchez (33rd), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Jeanette Taylor (20th) and Andre Vasquez (40th), members of the group now make up more than one-tenth of the council. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and Daniel La Spata (1st), who won their council races outright in February, are also aligned with the DSA.

Members of the group were critical of Lightfoot before her long-shot mayoral candidacy culminated in a sweep of the city’s 50 wards.