Progress Illinois

Although a deal was reportedly near, on Thursday the Chicago Teachers Union strike continued with teachers picketing in front of their schools for improved work conditions.

With numerous honks of support from passing traffic in the background, Progress Illinois spoke with striking teachers in front of Wells Community Academy High School, located on Ashland Avenue on Chicago’s Northwest Side, about why they are striking and what they hope the strike will accomplish.

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Day three of the Chicago Teachers Union strike saw simultaneous rallies Wednesday afternoon at three high schools across the city, which brought out thousands of teachers, parents, and children.

Progress Illinois caught up with teachers at John Marshall Metropolitan High School on the city’s West Side during one of the rallies. There, many teachers continued to hammer on the issues of overcrowded classes and their respective schools' lack of resources, like libraries, nurses and social workers, air conditioning, and computers. Yet, none complained of being paid too little or working too many hours.

“Overcrowding’s number one,” said Tony Heinrichs, a first-grade teacher at Falconer Elementary School. “Thirty-some kids in a classroom, it’s ninety-some degrees in the classroom, there’s not a lot of learning going on.”

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Today’s Chicago Tribune reports that once the teachers' strike ends the Chicago Public Schools will consider closing between 80 and 120 neighborhood schools on the South and West Sides. Except for Board of Education member Mahalia Hines, the Tribune cites anonymous sources and both the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS say they have no such plans.

But, according to Stacy Davis Gates, legislative and political director for the Chicago Teachers Union, “This rumor has been coursing for a while and we believe it, which is why we are pushing for a strong recall policy.” Both CPS and CTU say that a recall policy for recently laid off teachers is a sticking point in negotiations. CTU fears that school closings plus implementation of a teacher evaluation plan could mean CPS could let go of thousands of tenured teachers. Read more »