If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Picket
The teachers’ strike wave that has swept the nation since last year hasn’t just reinvigorated working-class militancy — it’s also produced some excellent picket line music and dancing. On the occasion of the teachers’ strike in Chicago, we rounded up the best of them.
Thousands of demonstrators take to the streets, stopping traffic and circling city hall in a show of support for the ongoing teachers’ strike on October 23, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois.(Scott Heins / Getty)
Over thirty thousand Chicago teachers and school workers walked off the job Thursday, in their second open-ended strike in seven years. In 2012, their defiant strike against Rahm Emanuel’s cuts and closures lit the fuse of the national teachers’ revolt which exploded last spring.
Teachers make some of the best strikers: most are good public speakers and team players, care deeply about their jobs and their communities, have unrivaled time-management skills, and can deal with chaos and crowds. Plus, they’re creative — especially with fun group activities. This was reflected in 2012 when Chicago teachers produced some great strike-themed cover songs like this Carly Rae Jepsen spin-off, “When There’s a Contract, Then Call Us Maybe.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqXmX5caH7k
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