By Steven Greenhouse
(From NY Times, September 12th, 2012)
Democrats left their convention in Charlotte, N.C., with an unusual amount of unity and enthusiasm, but the three-day-old strike by 26,000 teachers in Chicago has quickly deflated some of that enthusiasm — and could, some political analysts say, ultimately put some sizable cracks in the coalition that President Obama hopes to ride to re-election.
The strike pits several core components of the Democratic coalition against one another: The teachers’ union and much of organized labor are on a war footing against Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s Democratic mayor and Mr. Obama’s former chief of staff. What is more, the strike pits organized labor against myriad wealthy liberals — vital donors to Democratic coffers — many of whom contribute heavily to efforts to finance charter schools and weaken teachers’ unions.
“Any time we’re fighting among ourselves, it’s never helpful,” said Michael Fraioli, a Democratic strategist. “Any time you waste money and time fighting each other, it’s money we’re not spending fighting our real opponents.”
Ever since he was inaugurated, Mr. Obama has walked a fine line with the nation’s teachers’ unions, angering many teachers by promoting ideas they dislike, including nonunion charter schools and aggressive efforts to shut underperforming public schools and lay off many of their teachers. At the same time, Mr. Obama has heartened many teachers by defending the collective bargaining process and by battling to give billions of federal dollars to deficit-stricken cities and states to minimize the layoffs of teachers and other public employees.
Thanks to his labor-friendly efforts, Mr. Obama has won enthusiastic endorsements from the nation’s two main teachers’ unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, which together have 4.5 million members. Those unions can normally be counted on to provide tens of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of campaign foot soldiers to help the Democrats in national elections
And now with a strike pitting two of Mr. Obama’s most prominent allies against each other — the teachers’ union and Mr. Emanuel — the president could face many land mines if he steps into this battle.
“It only gets more complicated for him if the strike drags on for a long time,” said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, a national advocacy group that has often battled teachers’ unions. “President Obama really has to thread the needle here.”
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