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CTU delegates approve walkout, sending vote to full union membership
Delegates with the Chicago Teachers Union have approved a walkout, sending the vote to the full union membership.
CHICAGO - Delegates with the Chicago Teachers Union have approved a walkout, sending the vote to the full union membership.
This in response to the district's reopening plan.
The Chicago Teachers Union says they refuse to have their teachers go into school buildings until an agreement is reached on health and safety protocols.
On Wednesday night, more than 80 percent of CTU’s House of Delegates voted for teachers to continue working remotely.
Some 10,000 elementary school teachers were expected to return to Chicago Public School classrooms this coming Monday, as kindergarten through eighth grade students would resume in-class learning.
However, CTU representatives say their safety is still at risk.
A spokesperson for CTU says there has been movement at the bargaining table, but it’s not enough to ensure teachers and students will be safe.
The union says there is still no agreed upon health safety metric even though COVID-19 cases have decreased.
The school district said teachers that don’t show up as advised will not be paid and may not be able to log into the system.
The resolution will now be voted on by the district’s 25,000 member staff.
The union says if more that 50 percent of teachers vote to continue working remotely, that is what they will instruct their teachers to do.
CPS released the following statement:
"In each of the more than 60 sessions that we have had with CTU leadership concerning safely re-opening our schools, the district has come to the table in good faith, and we remain committed to reaching a mutually-acceptable agreement. We have agreed to the CTU’s safety demands every step of this process and we are ready to come to a resolution that provides our families the smooth transition to in-person learning they deserve.
CTU leadership wants to close schools that are already safely open to students, and cancel in-person learning for the tens of thousands of students who are relying on their dedicated educators to provide in-person learning in the coming weeks. Stripping tens of thousands of students of the opportunity for safe, in-person learning is not an option or a viable solution for families who have been planning to return since December."