After 10 months of negotiations failed, the Chicago’s 400,000 strong teachers went on strike on September 10, 2012 just at the start of the new school year. Issues include pay, teacher evaluations and the rights of laid-off teachers. The nation’s public school system is one of the main strongholds of the organized labor in the U.S. In Chicago, an average teacher salary is $75,000, one of the highest in the nation. Earlier the Mayor and the Union agreed to a 16 percent pay hike over next four years. Most difficult was the laid-off teacher issue due to expected 80 to 120 closures of schools and the lengthening of the school day. Chicago has one of the nation’s shortest school day. Chicago is faced with a $635.7 budget deficit.
The biggest recent battle of organized labor took place in Wisconsin. The state’s budget stripped most collective bargaining rights from the public sector workers. The organized labor fought hard and their recall effort of the Wisconsin Governor failed.
The organized labor is mostly concentrated in the public sector and recently the membership is dwindling. The biggest drop in the membership is in unions representing teachers as well as police, firemen, and security guards.