About the Candidate
Name: Edward Hershey
DOB: June 27, 1979
Occupation: High School Teacher
Website: https://workingclassfight.com/blog/category/illinois-2022/
Twitter: @efhershe
Candidate Statement
My name is Ed Hershey, and I am running as a Working Class Party candidate for Illinois' 4th congressional district.
I have been a teacher for 16 years at Lindblom High School in West Englewood on Chicago's South Side. Working in the school system, I have seen how the city refuses to educate more and more of our youth – closing schools, starving them of funds, all while handing big payouts to companies and developers. I have been active in my school, where I've served as a union rep for a decade, with my students, and in my community. I got more involved with the teachers union at Lindblom in the run-up to the 2012 strike, which was a fight that drew the notice of many working people in Chicago.
In 2015, alongside several other teachers, I ran for alderman of the 25th ward to propose "A Working Class Fight." Workers in one workplace, or even one industry, cannot take on the whole system alone. But by running, I can give voice to that idea: that we, working people, need to press for our own interests and we should have our own party.
Over this country's history, we have seen the working class make massive fights – many of them centered in Chicago. Faced by these problems in our society, I have every confidence that the working class will move again.
Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
To give a voice in these elections to the idea, to the necessity of a Working Class Party.
What does this office do well, and what needs fixing?
Working people need our own voice and our own representation within our current political system. The two big parties both, at the end of the day, represent the wealthy and corporate interests first and foremost.
What is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
Inflation. Our wages need to go up to keep up with every price increase. This is even more true for Social Security and Pension payments as well for those who have retired. To accomplish this will take a fight of the entire working class.
What specific steps would you take to ensure your office is accessible and responsive to your constituents?
We would make it open and available to any and all working folks in the area who needed a place to meet, to coordinate. My door and phone lines would always be open. We would allow any group of workers who are fighting for their pay or their communities to use our platform to publicize what they are doing.
