Video: Pushing Back Against Teachers Unions

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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Teachers Union are locked in bitter negotiations over the fate of the city's schools. Under the threat of a the first city-wide teachers strike in 25 years, Emanuel has joined a growing list of politicians pushing back against union demands. Reason TV reported on the fraying union support while covering NBC's Education Nation conference back in 2010.  

Here is the original text from the Oct. 1, 2010 video:

Now that the final bell has rung on NBC's week-long Education Nation conference, we can ask the extra credit question: When did school choice go mainstream?

The "summit," held at NBC's New York studios at Rockefeller Center, almost felt like a publicity junket for "Waiting for Superman," a highly praised new documentary advocating for charter schools. A national TV audience watched as D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee chewed out teachers union honcho Randi Weingarten for spending $1 million in campaign funds to halt Rhee's reform agenda. Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski took a shot at Weingarten for resisting merit pay for teachers. And what to make of former Howard Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi working to promote National School Choice Week, slated for January 2011?

Will Democrats turn their newfound zeal for school choice into policies that actually banish unions from the classroom and empower parents and students? Reason.tv's Michael Moynihan went to Education Nation to find out.

Produced by Jim Epstein and Michael Moynihan, with help from Joshua Swain. Approximately 4.15 minutes.