Chicago teachers move toward strike over virus
Educators demand to be vaccinated before returning to in-person instruction
Chicago public school teachers are moving toward a strike in the nation’s third-largest district as union members voted to only work remotely, prompting the district to delay the teachers’ required return to classrooms this week by two days.
The Chicago Teachers Union said in a statement Sunday that 71% of its voting members approved a resolution to “conduct remote work only” when kindergarten through eighth grade teachers were scheduled to report to work in-person on Monday, the union said.
After the union released the vote results, the district pushed back teachers’ required return to Wednesday to create more time to reach an agreement, school officials said. Kindergarten through eighth grade students have the option to return Feb. 1.
“To ensure we have the time needed to resolve our discussions without risking disruption to student learning, we have agreed to a request from CTU leadership to push back the return of K-8 teachers and staff to Wednesday, Jan. 27,” Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson and chief education officer LaTanya McDade said in the statement.
School officials want to avoid the second strike in two years for the district. The clash over reopening comes as school administrators across the country are grappling with how to bring students back to the classroom amid the pandemic and increase of vaccinations.
President Joe Biden has vowed to reopen most U.S. schools in his first 100 days and has directed the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to provide guidance on reopening.
“We will continue to work remote so we can keep ourselves, our families and our school communities safe,” the teachers’ union said in its statement, noting that bargaining continues. “If we are locked out by the mayor and CPS, then the choice to strike is theirs, not ours.”