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Monday, January 25, 2021

Chicago Teachers Union votes to refuse in-person classes - The Washington Post

Chicago Teachers Union votes to refuse in-person classes - The Washington Post
Chicago Teachers Union votes to refuse in-person classes and continue remote instruction




CHICAGO — The Chicago Teachers Union voted to refuse in-person instruction Sunday and directed educators to work remotely starting Monday. The decision comes two weeks after the nation's third-largest school district called teachers and staff into classrooms and started to lock them out from remote work.

Chicago Public Schools chief executive Janice Jackson had said the action would constitute an illegal strike. “I want to be clear, if teachers refuse to come to work on Monday, that is a strike, that is not a lockout,” Jackson said Friday as the union polled its 25,000 members.

But in a statement on Sunday, she said the district has agreed to a request from union leadership to push back the return of K-8 teachers and staff from Monday to Wednesday this week. “We now agree on far more than we disagree, but our discussions remain ongoing, and additional time is needed to reach a resolution,” Jackson said.

The Chicago Teachers Union said it does not have any agreement with the district on any terms but will continue to negotiate. “Our collective power is our greatest strength,” Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said. “And this vote cements our intention to continue to stand together in unity to land an agreement that protects educators, students and all of our CPS families.”

The Chicago Teachers Union has gone on strike three times in the past decade, including a 14-day walkout in the fall of 2019.

The union contends a strike, over unfair labor practices, would start if the district retaliates by denying teachers online access to their classes, as it has done with more than 100 staff members who did not receive preapproved health accommodations when Chicago schools reopened this month. The city is requiring all teachers to work from school buildings, even if their students had all opted for remote CONTINUE READING: Chicago Teachers Union votes to refuse in-person classes - The Washington Post