The Chicago Teachers Union on Wednesday set dates for a second strike authorization vote later this month. There is never any good time to not strike.
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The vote repeats a step the union took last December, when the union said members overwhelmingly authorized its leaders to call a strike.
Both sides return to the negotiation table Thursday. A strike could happen as early as October if an agreement could not be reached.
During a Tuesday press conference at Burke Elementary, Mayor Rahm Emanuel praised CPS’ commitment to offering students a comprehensive education that incorporates the arts, but failed to comment on a potential CTU strike. “Let’s use our energy at the negotiating table to find a solution that secures our teachers pensions because they are going to be the ones retiring on it”, Emanuel said. CPS teachers do great work – especially propelling the Chicago students’ remarkable academic gains – and we want to give them a fair raise that works within our budget constraints. Younger teachers would see pay increases, CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said, but more veteran teachers who comprise roughly half of union members would see a cut.
The board’s negotiators are running union proposals “up the flagpole”, but the board has to come back with something different, Lewis said. “Forty-seven percent of districts in the state of IL have a pension pick up”, Lewis said.
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CPS is already experiencing massive financial problems. District officials lodged an unfair labor practices complaint, calling the strike illegal.
