The VP Of Chicago Teacher’s Union Calls Questions Concerning His Involvement With Marxist Conference To Be McCarthyism

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During a WLS radio interview, Jesse Sharkey Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Vice President had a difficult time explaining his participation in the Midwest Marxist Conference. He refused to answer questions pertaining to why he was there and how the Chicago teachers are involved with the conference and the sponsor, the International Socialists Organization.

Bruce Dan and Dan Proft interviewed Sharkey on their show to discuss the school closing controversy being waged between the CTU and Chicago Public Schools. Sharkey was addressing the Chicago Teachers Union’s coalitions that had supported the teachers’ strike this fall, until Proft asked about the teachers union ties to “revolutionary movements.”

Using the classic first defense of the cornered Leftist, Sharkey accused Proft of McCarthyism.

Sharkey: What our union has done, is work very hard to build a coalition between people who work in the schools and depend on the public schools and the people who go to school, the students and community …And, uhm, I think the fact that we’re dedicated to that is reflected in the fact that there’s been broad support for the things we’re trying to do.

Proft: Where do the revolutionary movements fit into that coalition? I understand that a couple weeks ago that you appeared at the Midwest Marxist Conference at Northwestern University to talk about the important support that Chicago teachers get from revolutionary movements’ use of the strike weapon. What’s the alignment with Marxist organizations and revolutionary movements?

Sharkey: Ha, ha, ha, look guys, I mean, thanks…

Proft: That’s a legitimate question. That’s actually just happened. That’s actually true. That’s not McCarthyism.

Sharkey: Thanks for the 1950s McCarthyism.

Proft: It’s not McCarthyism.

Sharkey: Uh, uh, well look it, the, the, the um—every time that unions or social movements have raised issues about what’s fair and what isn’t in base and equality, people have branded them as communist. I, I know…

Proft: Wait a second. You spoke? Did you, or did you not, speak at the Midwest Marxist Conference?

Sharkey: I… [pause] No I did not speak at the Midwest Marxism Conference.

Wolf: You were there though.

Proft: You didn’t?

Wolf: You were there.

Sharkey: Uh.

Wolf: You were there. We’ve got you on video there. Why were you there?
Sharkey: Uh. I’m allowed to attend a Marxist conference, like I’m allowed to [inaudible]…

Wolf: Do you subscribe to their beliefs Mr. Sharkey?

Sharkey: Eh. Look, look guys, I mean, if you want to have me on as part of a, uh, uh, witch-hunt…

Wolf: It’s not a witch-hunt. What do you believe?

Proft: You attended this conference, I’m just asking you what value you derive from this conference and how you see revolutionary movements as so described to connect to the teachers unions, that’s all. It’s not a witch-hunt. It’s something you did.

Sharkey: Ah, uh, look gentlemen; I’m not sure where you’re going with…

Sharkey was at the conference and his participation was recorded by a Breitbart reporter in a breakout session discussing relationships between revolutionary organizations including the International Socialists Oorganization’s involvement in the teachers’ strike. Sharkey contributed by discussing his views on what he termed an interesting dilemma:

It’s very hard to have a huge struggle in Chicago over the set of things that are being pushed—education reform, or frankly workplace reform—and not have that struggle taken up anywhere else.

Just in the same way, it’s hard to have you know, if one freight way, has got wages that are $10 an hour higher than their competitors. Guess what! The logic is that high wage place gets smashed down, and that’s the logic of the market. And it’s only when you start to generalize that there could be some alternative to that, that you have the ability to push back…

The magic of struggle is just how easy it is to generalize those lessons. Whether it’s Wisconsin or Occupy or the CTU strike.

It is interesting to note how Sharkey is willing to equate education reform with workplace reform. When the general public hears the phrase education reform, they automatically have sympathy for the education of the children, but education reform has nothing to do with education or children, it is all about the teachers, their union, and the advancement of Socialism.

Are our children equipped to resist the Marxist indoctrination of their schools? A rhetorical question at best, we need only look at the voting stats of our young people in the last election.

Just because the teachers are Marxist sympathizers or loyalists, will their opinions assert themselves on the children? Once again, a rhetorical question, every Marxist is on a mission to spread the message, and converting the children is the easiest and most effective method of promoting the revolution. Obviously, the Marxists know they will never convert the readers of Flopping Aces, but they can get to the children. Eight hours of indoctrination, five days a week, for nine months a year is a lot of time to indoctrinate the young fertile minds of our youth and Marxist like Sharkey are more than willing to prepare the drones of the future.