This week has been really hard. But I think about what else has happened this week, that I'm grateful to have taught this week in NYC, and I'm grateful my Chicago teacher friends get to teach after being on #CTUSEIUstrike for 11 days ❤️💜

I'm now starting to wonder if my son will even return to school before we leave for our new life. #CTUSEIUstrike 😬

Chicago teachers and staff- are there any solidarity funds for specific school sites/groups we can donate to online? #CTUSEIUstrike

Every time these past 2 weeks I've said to myself "woe is me" or things are too much or something's out of my control, I look to Chicago teachers and staff who've been on #CTUSEIUstrike & remind myself there's strength & power in unified collective action & there's hope, always.

(Here's a flipped-over image so you can actually see the old @CTULocal1 logo from when I was a member 2013-2016: sad I never got any @SEIU73 gear from when I was a SECA 2012-13!) Solidarity from my doctor's office in NYC on day 6 of the #CTUSEIUstrike!

Today, @CTULocal1 and @SEIU73 are fighting for the rights of our students, so the rest of us can follow in their example and do the same. Thank you, Chicago teachers and staff. We are in solidarity with Day 6 of your #CTUSEIUStrike today.

My mother, who worked in sweatshops & bakeries, didn't experience a sick day until she was near retiring: "I can't believe I get paid when I'm sick," she told me. A sick day was inconceivable to my mother. That's a right I have and that WE have because of unions. #CTUSEIUstrike

Rights are not guaranteed- they are hard-won and maintained. @SEIU73 and @CTULocal1 taught me that. Yesterday I was sick and lost my voice; today as a NYC teacher I took a sick day, and I know that's a right I have. Unions fought for me to have that right. #CTUSEIUstrike

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot campaigned, by the way, for staffing for nurses and the like in schools, and now calls CTU and SEIU's demands a "bailout." Having adequate staffing for Chicago Public School is not a bailout- it's a right our students should have. #CTUSEIUStrike

We're facing rising healthcare costs, and many of our members have moved out of NYC because they can't afford to live in NYC. Chicago @CTULocal1 teachers and @SEIU73 SECAs have a residency requirement to live in Chicago and so face those housing costs. #CTUSEIUstrike

I taught & worked in Chicago schools for 5 years- I moved home to NYC 3 years ago & a NYC teacher. We face a number of similar issues, like not having a librarian, only having a social worker a few days a week. But we do have counselors & nurses 5 days a week here. #CTUSEIUstrike

(continuing thread now that I'm back from the doctor's office and have my phone sufficiently charged): Special ed needs were not being met because of special ed vacancies, exacerbating current special education teacher caseloads, burnout, and the cycle continues. #CTUSEIUstrike

When a student had an accident and blood gushed everywhere, we would've had to call 911 & send the kid on an ambulance by himself- had it not been a Thurs morning. It was, so the nurse administered first aid, bandaged him up; his mom came & took him to the doctor. #ctuseiustrike

We didn't have books, so I had to print books for my students to read. We didn't have a regular counselor because she was also the special ed case manager. We had a nurse only Thursday mornings for a half day. #ctuseiustrike

While a @SEIU73 SECA I also barely got by on my income. My income then was just under $30,000; my take-home pay was just under $20,000/yr. This salary was w/ a bachelor's & graduate credits. I could pay for rent, groceries, & student loans, but not much else. #CTUSEIUStrike

I am a proud former member of both SEIU 73 and the Chicago Teachers Union now currently teaching in my hometown NYC, and I'm in red and purple today in solidarity with Day 6 of the #CTUSEIUstrike in Chicago.

Me: (teaching with a croaky, raspy, lowered voice cuz I lost my voice)
J: Ms. Tan, it's like you're going through puberty!
J: Yeah, you're like those boys!

Glad I get to see my kids. I know Chicago teachers & staff miss their kids & are striking for them. ♥️💜 #CTUSEIUstrike

11/11 👆🏾This is why I’m not going to work for a while. #CTUstrike #CTUSEIUstrike