Per the post below, one more thought I didn’t have time to get to this AM: I don’t think there will be a teacher strike in NYC, I don’t think the public would support it and I think the union knows that. And, teacher strikes have been declining for some time anyway. What this tough talk about a strike is really about is internal union politics, letting the members know that the leadership is going to fight for them, building solidarity, and so forth Remember, union heads do have to be reelected so they’re politicians, too…What’s different now, as opposed to just a few years ago, is all these blogs. In the past you could send out these internal messages and for the most part they stayed below the radar. Now, since the unions’ blogs are a good way for them to communicate with members, they rattle their sabers there, and before long it boomerangs around all over the place to places like Joe Williams’ haunts.