Chicago Schools Cancel Classes as Teachers Announce Strike
Since the late 19th century, Chicago has been a heavily Democratic city with strong teacher activism. This activism has been especially clear recently, when in December of last year Chicago was the site of the first teacher strike within a charter school network.
This year, the city's activism has not changed. On Wednesday, teachers in Chicago announced they would be going on strike on Thursday, prompting class cancelations in the nation's third largest school district. This strike for Chicago's school system is the first since 2012.
For months, the city and Chicago Teachers Union have been in tense negotiations. While there were signs of progress, as the midnight deadline on Wednesday drew nearer, the new mayor Lori Lightfoot canceled classes for Thursday as signs indicated a walkout was inevitable.
These walkouts are one example in a string of over a dozen protests by teachers across the country since early 2018. The current Chicago walkout acts as a test for Ms. Lightfoot, who was elected this year on a campaign calling for more nurses and social workers in the city's schools.
The city says it had offered teachers pay raises that would total at 16% over a five year period, while the union leaders have demanded for pay increases of 15% over a three year term.
Stacy Davis Gates, VP of Chicago Teachers Union, on Ms. Lightfoot's image: “Our children deserve the best that this city has to offer...They do not deserve broken promises. Our South Side communities, our West Side communities are littered with broken promises, unkept commitments. This contract has to represent something different for the city of Chicago — it has got to represent something different. And she ran to do that. Period.”
Chicago Schools Cancel Classes as Teachers Announce Strike
This year, the city's activism has not changed. On Wednesday, teachers in Chicago announced they would be going on strike on Thursday, prompting class cancelations in the nation's third largest school district. This strike for Chicago's school system is the first since 2012.
For months, the city and Chicago Teachers Union have been in tense negotiations. While there were signs of progress, as the midnight deadline on Wednesday drew nearer, the new mayor Lori Lightfoot canceled classes for Thursday as signs indicated a walkout was inevitable.
These walkouts are one example in a string of over a dozen protests by teachers across the country since early 2018. The current Chicago walkout acts as a test for Ms. Lightfoot, who was elected this year on a campaign calling for more nurses and social workers in the city's schools.
The city says it had offered teachers pay raises that would total at 16% over a five year period, while the union leaders have demanded for pay increases of 15% over a three year term.
Stacy Davis Gates, VP of Chicago Teachers Union, on Ms. Lightfoot's image: “Our children deserve the best that this city has to offer...They do not deserve broken promises. Our South Side communities, our West Side communities are littered with broken promises, unkept commitments. This contract has to represent something different for the city of Chicago — it has got to represent something different. And she ran to do that. Period.”
Chicago Schools Cancel Classes as Teachers Announce Strike
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