This Is Why Chicago Teachers Are Fed Up With The Mayor
An overwhelming majority of the Chicago Teachers Union, 88 percent, voted on Monday to allow union leaders to call for a strike.
It will be several months before the union decides whether to actually begin a strike. First, they’re going on a “fact-finding mission” in one last effort to resolve the negotiations. But if they do decide to walk out of their classrooms, it will be the second time the union — which has 27,000 members and serves the nation’s third largest school district in the nation — has gone on strike in just a few years.
How did the CTU and mayor’s office get here? It’s complicated.
The last time teachers went on strike
Back in 2012, there was a massive teachers strike over maintaining the schedule for career advancement, putting less emphasis on standardized testing in teacher evaluations, and providing compensation for longer school years. It was the first time that Chicago teachers had gone on strike in a quarter of a century.
Groups of teachers picket outside Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012, as a strike by Chicago Teachers Union members heads into its second week.
CREDIT: SPENCER GREEN/AP
During the strike, which began on September 10 of that year, CPS opened sites at libraries, churches, and nonprofits to provide children a place to go. One week later, Mayor Rahm Emanuelwent to court, seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the strike.
The 2012 strike officially ended on September 18, after the teachers union won annual raises and negotiated a provision that helps strongly rated laid-off teachers find more job opportunities in Chicago schools. They conceded, though, that standardized test results would still be factored into teachers’ evaluations.
This time around, many of the same issues are at play in contract negotiations. The CTU wants to reduce standardized testing, give teachers more autonomy on issues like grades and smaller class sizes, and provide for more school nurses and librarians. The union also asks that the school address larger economic problems by providing translation services, restorative justice programs, and school counselors.
How the teachers union and the mayor got to this point
The relationship between the mayor and the CTU did not improve after reaching a deal in 2012. In fact, it became so contentious that the president of the teachers union, Karen Lewis, considered jumping into the mayor’s race herself. Though she ultimately decided not to run due to medical issues, education loomed large in the most recent mayoral race. Emanuel’s opponent, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, was recruited by Lewis to run and received a substantial portion of his campaign money from teachers unions, including $200,000 from the American Federation of Teachers.
After failing to win more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, Emanuel had to run against This Is Why Chicago Teachers Are Fed Up With The Mayor | ThinkProgress:
