Now that Chicago Teachers Union members have ratified a new contract, CTU President Karen Lewis detailed what comes next for the union and Chicago Public Schools district.
“We will work with them to shore up their financial issues by promoting legislation that will adequately and equitably fund all of Illinois’ schools,” she said during a speech before the City Club of Chicago.
In discussing the vote results, Lewis said, “What I can tell you is that the level of distrust between the district, parents, educators and communities is still high, and will need a lot of work to repair these wounds.”
With a potential strike looming, unionized Chicago teachers at the UNO Charter School Network (UCSN) rallied with their allies Thursday afternoon in their push for a “fair contract.”
They picketed outside the charter network’s downtown headquarters, 209 W. Jackson Boulevard, with signs that read: “We don’t want to strike but we’re ready” and “We will fight for a fair contract.”
“Our students are all low income, and (UCSN has) offices down here in this fancy building, and they’re not willing to make cuts at the top” to improve the quality of education for students, said Erica Stewart.
Chicago parents, aldermen and state lawmakers urged the city Friday to support a TIF surplus ordinance to help avert a potential teachers strike next week and alleviate school budget cuts.
The union representing Illinois government workers released an ad this week calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner to return to the negotiating table. AFSCME alleges that Rauner has failed to engage in contract talks with the union since January.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body approved an October 11 strike date Wednesday, putting the union one step closer toward its second walkout since 2012.
“If we cannot reach an agreement by then, we will withhold our labor,” CTU President Karen Lewis told reporters Wednesday evening after a special meeting of the union’s House of Delegates.
CTU and school district officials have yet to agree on a new labor contract to replace the one that expired in June 2015.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body approved an October 11 strike date Wednesday, putting the union one step closer toward its second walkout since 2012.