Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis said at a press conference at 10 p.m. that “no CTU member will be inside our schools” on Monday morning. “Please seek alternative care for your children,” NBC 5 Chicago showed her saying. She is on record as saying the contingency sites were not being set up very well, but some students may have no other choice.
“We have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike.”
Talks between the union and Chicago Public Schools have been ongoing and picked up intensity yesterday and today. However, the Chicago Tribune reported that the CPS negotiators walked away from the bargaining table about a half hour before the news conference, saying they had put their best offer on the table.
“I have been personally trying to talk to [Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis] for the last hour or two,” NBC 5 Chicago quoted board president David Vitale as saying. “I’ve made three or four attempts to talk to her, and unfortunately I’ve not been able to do that. So based on that we’ve assumed that we have basically done for today,” Vitale said. “We do not know, finally, where they are, but at this juncture it is clearly their decision. … We’ve done everything we can.”
The most recent strike in Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s third-largest school district, was in 1987.
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We expect the strike will be short-lived, as Ms Lewis said progress had been made. It sounded like the progress just wasn’t enough to reach an accord, but at least there is movement toward an agreement being mentioned by both sides.