Chicago Teachers Union delegates have voted to accept a tentative agreement on a contract — but won’t end the strike yet because they’re still battling with Mayor Lori Lightfoot over making up the days lost to the walkout.
The union says it will be at City Hall at 10 a.m. Thursday to “demand the mayor return our days.”
Lightfoot responded late Wednesday by saying she was “gravely disappointed” and that the union “moved the goalposts” again, resulting in another day of canceled classes despite a tentative agreement in place.
Thursday will be the 11th day of the strike.
Union President Jesse Sharkey contended Lightfoot was seeking to punish the union by holding out on the makeup days. Without those, the union won’t receive pay for the days lost to the strike.
“We feel like important things were accomplished over the last 10 days” during the strike, Sharkey said. “Now we feel we’re just being punished because we had the audacity to (go against) the mayor. … Her last card is to punish us for what we did.”
Lightfoot, however, asserted that Sharkey and union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates never brought up the makeup day compensation during a 3 1/2-hour meeting with her on Tuesday. Rather, the mayor said, Sharkey assured her with a “grand gesture” that the issues hashed during that meeting were the final sticking points.
“The CTU has repeatedly asked me to give them what I promised during the campaign and that’s precisely what we did in this contract. And now what I am saying to the CTU leadership is to give our kids and our parents and our taxpayers what you promised,” Lightfoot said.
“At this late hour, we are not adding any new issues,” she said. “… At some point negotiations have to end.”
Despite the late hiccup over the makeup days, union officials said they were overall pleased with what’s in the tentative agreement, while the mayor called it the most generous contract in CPS history.
Union officials said it wasn’t perfect but that they received many of their demands, including enforceable class size caps and a nurse and social worker in every school.
One of the bigger wins for the city was a five-year contract. The union has wanted a three-year deal, and also did not win the paid prep time it was seeking.
But Sharkey said the mayor “did the right thing” and kept her campaign promises.
In addition to resolving the issue of makeup days, though, union leaders noted that the tentative deal still needs to be ratified by its rank-and-file members. They acknowledged the support by the House of Delegates — the tentative agreement passed 364-242, according to a person with knowledge of the outcome — was not overwhelming.
The makeup of school days called off by the strike — which now stands at 10 — emerged as a make-or-break issue Wednesday afternoon.
Davis Gates tweeted that the union “may have reached a monumental agreement and want to convene our (House of Delegates) to suspend the strike.”
That sounded promising, but then she immediately followed up with another tweet: “However, our mayor has informed us that she will not make up student instructional time due to the strike.”
Davis Gates also said: “Why is the mayor taking out her anger over the strike on #CPS students by reducing instructional time?
Lightfoot has said the days won’t be made up, but the district might be required by state law to add days, since a minimum of 180 instructional days is legally mandated. Not all 10 days would be legally required to be made up, though.
Lightfoot has been emphatically against the idea, saying: “I’ve been very clear from the beginning: We are not extending the school year. I typically don’t say things in public that I don’t mean.”
Both sides have now accused the other of backing a loss of instructional time. Lightfoot said she would not support paid prep time because of its effect on classroom time.
Here are more updates from the 10th day of the teachers strike:
10:43 p.m.: CTU tweets about return to work agreement
9:10 p.m.: CPS cancels classes for Thursday
CPS has formally canceled classes again Thursday. The walkout will continue for an 11th school day.
8:36 p.m.: CTU approves tentative agreement on a contract — but strike continues
Chicago Teachers Union delegates have voted to accept a tentative agreement on a contract – but won’t end the strike yet because they’ll still squabbling with the city over making up the days lost to the walkout. Read the agreement here.
8:15 p.m.: Union delegates split on class size caps; CTU president ‘said he thinks we got all that we could get’
One thing union delegates have been debating is whether they will accept what’s been offered on class size, according to a Tweet from inside the delegates’ meeting.
On the class size issue – a central one for the union — bargaining team member Alison Eichhorn Tweeted that Jesse (presumably a reference to union President Jesse Sharkey) “said he thinks we got all that we could get. He said we took the tableware, we took the floorboards.” She added union member then got up and said, “You need to go take the safe.”
7:45 p.m.: Decision on Thursday classes awaits outcome of union House of Delegates meeting
CPS officials are again waiting for action by the teachers union House of Delegates to determine if classes will be canceled again Thursday.
CPS has tweeted that it will let families know as soon as possible but says it will not send robocalls after 8 p.m. “We will notify families as soon as we receive confirmation from CTU.
7:18 p.m.: Read the CPS-CTU tentative agreement
The Chicago Teachers Union is considering a tentative agreement that is a five-year deal, according to a copy obtained by the Tribune. Read it here.
5 p.m.: CPS support staff ratifies new contract but say it will stand with teachers until strike ends
While Chicago waited for word Wednesday evening of a possible deal with the Chicago Teachers Union to end the strike, another union of CPS employees ratified its new contract.
Custodians, bus aides, special education assistants and security personnel went on strike along with teachers on Oct. 17 but reached a tentative deal over the weekend.
In a vote that followed Monday and Tuesday, 97% of union members supported ratification of the new contract, Service Employees Union Local 73 announced late Wednesday.
The union called the five-year agreement with CPS a victory for working people. It provides wage increases ranging from 17% to 40% for the support staff, according to union officials. The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2018, when the last one expired, and will end in June 2023.
SEIU said it had achieved “life-changing improvements” for its members.
Under the deal, which remains tentative until the Board of Education approves it, custodians will receive two weeks of paid vacation that they lost during the 2015 negotiations, and bus aides won back six paid vacation days they lost in the same negotiations, according to union officials.
CPS support staff will also receive holiday pay for select holidays.
An enthusiastic group SEIU members, many carrying “Good Jobs 4 Chicago” signs, cheered as they celebrated the new contract as a news conference Wednesday.
SEIU Local President Dian Palmer called the agreement a “historic victory.”
But SEIU officials said they would continue to support their CTU counterparts on the picket line.
Larry Alcoff, SEIU’s lead negotiator, said the union made a nearly unanimous decision to “honor the picket lines and stand in solidarity with CTU.” — Javonte Anderson
3:55 p.m.: CTU calls in House of Delegates to vote on tentative contract
The CTU called in its House of Delegates to vote on a tentative contract – but says the deal hinges on the mayor agreeing to allow lost school days to be made up.
It’s unclear how Lightfoot and CPS will respond on making up school days. Lightfoot has repeatedly said the school district would not make up school days lost to the strike. Last week, Lightfoot was emphatically against the idea, saying: “I’ve been very clear from the beginning: We are not extending the school year. I typically don’t say things in public that I don’t mean.”
3:35 p.m.: Are city, CTU stuck on making up lost days?
A tweet by the CTU vice president suggests that making up school days that were lost to the strike may be among the last barriers to a contract deal.
Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates tweeted that the union “may have reached a monumental agreement and want to convene our (House of Delegates) to suspend the strike.
That sounded promising, but then she immediately followed up with another tweet: “However, our mayor has informed us that she will not make up student instructional time due to the strike.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said the days won’t be made up, but the district might be required by state law to add days, since a minimum of 180 instructional days is legally mandated.
3:25 p.m.: CPS cross country runners deprived of postseason by strike will have unofficial city race organized by sympathetic Mather grad
Chris Wilhite competed in the Illinois high school cross-country championships in 2001 and 2002 for Mather High School on the Northwest Side, and felt compelled to do something for the students who were shut out of competing this year because of the teachers strike.
“It really hit home,” said Wilhite, now a manager at Dick Pond Athletics in Park Ridge.
So Wilhite organized an unofficial meet for Chicago Public Schools students on Nov. 7 that could see as many as 1,000 runners, he said. The students can form their own team and give themselves fun team names, he said. Read more here. — Madeline Buckley
2 p.m.: After march, teachers rally on Near West Side
Around 12:45 pm, hundreds of ralliers merged onto Roosevelt Road and gathered at the intersection of Roosevelt and Delano Ct., then began marching west on Roosevelt, toward Halsted Street. As the union members and supporters marched, some people came out of stores to pump their firsts and cheer for them.
At the intersection of Roosevelt and Halsted, around 1:20 pm, the marchers came off of Roosevelt and gathered in a courtyard near the UIC forum.
Several speakers took to a megaphone on the corner of Halsted St and Roosevelt Rd where marchers gathered after marching west. Among them was Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, who voiced his continued support to the CTU, calling CPS “the system that has failed children for way too long.”
One of the teachers arrested Tuesday evening in a sit-in at Sterling Bay headquarters also spoke, telling the crowd the individual names of the eight others arrested. He was met with chants of “We’re with you.”Jennefa Krupinski, an assistant teacher at Suder Montessori, arrived at the rally in a white poncho—dressed, she said, as “the ghost of Lori Lightfoot’s campaign promises.”
“I feel like there’s been a lot of pushback with teachers singing and dancing on the picket,” Krupinski said, “I have to have fun on this or else I’m going to go crazy.”
Scrawled on her poncho were “more counselors,” “a nurse in every school,” and “equity!,” among other phrases.
The rally ended a little after 2 p.m., with most of the protesters dispersing a little after that. — Elaine Chen and Jessica Villagomez
1:45 p.m.: CPS football teams receive permission to practice for state playoffs, even with teachers strike still on
Simeon Career Academy, Phillips Academy High School and 17 other Chicago Public Schools football teams that qualified for the postseason have received permission to practice Wednesday even as the teachers strike continues, CPS officials said.
The Illinois High School Association, which governs postseason play, says a team made idle by a strike that lasts a week or more must practice for three days before it can compete. All CPS teams are scheduled to play Saturday, so holding their first practice Wednesday is a must. Read more here.
12:55 p.m.: Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan reiterates support for elected Chicago school board
House speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday reiterated his support for an elected school board and vowed to give the matter full consideration again in the spring.
In a written statement, Madigan noted the Democrat-led House has supported Chicago Public Schools and the chamber has approved legislation three times that would fill the city’s school board through elections.
“Moreover, I have supported — and the House has twice passed — a bill to ensure that Chicago’s school personnel can negotiate over the same issues that educators in every other school district in Illinois can negotiate,” Madigan said. “The House of Representatives will continue to advocate for equitable treatment for all schools in Illinois, and will again give full consideration to these proposals in the upcoming spring session.”
Earlier this year, the House approved legislation backed by the Chicago Teachers Union that would put decisions on union contracts, policies, construction and borrowing in the hands of a 21-member school board starting in 2023. The proposal, which Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposed, would have created the largest elected board used by any major urban school system.
The measure stalled in the Senate this spring after Lightfoot, who campaign in support of an elected school board, opposed the measure in the House saying it would be too unwieldy and have too many members.
The CTU has at times been a Madigan ally, endorsing his handpicked alderman Marty Quinn in the spring election.
The CTU has continued to pressure Lightfoot to support an elected school board. According to internal bargaining documents, the union would weigh such a commitment on her part among other factors in agreeing to a five-year contract rather than the three-year term they want.”
Whether we can agree to a 5-year contract will depend on our assessment of the wins in the contract,” writes the bargaining team.
“Additionally, would we accept a 5-year contract if it addresses our priorities AND the mayor stops blocking the passage of an Elected Representative School Board and getting back our bargaining rights?”
Meanwhile, Democratic state Sens. Robert Martwick and Omar Aquino said in a news release they plan to push legislation this spring that would institute an elected Chicago school board. A separate bill, from Sen. Bill Cunningham, would look to restore class sizes and staffing under the collective bargaining process, the release said.
12:28 p.m.: At The 78, teachers gather to protest tax funding for developers
At noon, members and supporters of the union gathered at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Clark Street, near the proposed site of The 78 development, a mixed-use riverfront campus that is slated for vacant land between Chinatown and the South Loop.
Rallying on both sides of Roosevelt, they protested city funding from a special taxing district for The 78, which will be developed by Related Midwest.
“We need money to educate, not to fund The 78,” they chanted.Protesters held umbrellas over their heads and wore rain ponchos to shield from the harsh rain. Some protected their signs with clear plastic bags.
As members walked in a line and circled sidewalks on both sides of the street, a small police presence was stationed on the side of the street. Members marched and chanted several sayings including: “get up, get down, Chicago is a union town” and “this is what democracy looks like.”Large groups of supporters spent time inside the Target store at the corner of Roosevelt and Clark to shield from the rain.
“It’s really nice out there, guys,” one demonstrator joked.
Tuesday, teachers protested at the site of the Lincoln Yards development, which has also been awarded tax-increment financing funds. — Elaine Chen and Jessica Villagomez
11:56 a.m.: Chicago teachers still on strike, but ‘freedom school’ in session at Kenwood Academy
Steps away from the Chicago Teachers Union megaphones and picket chants, a group of students and striking teachers from Kenwood Academy High School sat in folded chairs under a red canopy, talking about pressure, strength, race and mental health.
Friday’s looming deadline for many college early applications has been on their minds. But while classes have been canceled because of the strike, many Kenwood students and have attended what’s been dubbed “freedom school” outside the building, where they can stay connected to their teachers and peers and exercise their minds. Read more here.
11 a.m.: Sides ‘dug in’ over contract length, still stuck on teacher prep time
A negotiations summary reviewed by the teachers union House of Delegates Tuesday night notes progress on several key demand and states “we have won several agreements on working conditions that will positively impact sections of our membership and our students.”
The 12-page document from the 40-member union bargaining team compares Tuesday’s proposal updates with those provided by the city on Oct. 1, 15 and 25 and assesses movement on the union’s priorities. It describes CPS and the mayor as “dug in” on contract length.
The city and CPS want a five-year contract; the union has stood firm on a three-year deal.
“Whether we can agree to a 5-year contract will depend on our assessment of the wins in the contract,” writes the bargaining team. “Additionally, would we accept a 5-year contract if it addresses our priorities AND the mayor stops blocking the passage of an Elected Representative School Board and getting back our bargaining rights?”
The bargaining team’s summary states they sense the health care offer is decent, adding that CPS has signaled a willingness toward movement on the issue.
But the two sides have seen no recent movement on educator prep time since CPS rolled back its initial proposals on that issue and offered to maintain the status quo.
“The CTU Bargaining Team has discussed multiple ways of approaching additional prep time for elementary school and so far the mayor and CPS have not agreed to any possible option,” according to the summary. It also says outstanding issues related to special education are also “connected to the fight for additional prep time.
On sports and coaching, the summary assesses there’s been movement, with CPS proposing a joint committee and $5 million annually for changes to sports programs and coach pay. “Sports is an issue that has not been discussed in decades so this is a win,” according to the bargaining team.
The summary also declares wins on one of the contract’s more controversial topics, housing and support for students in temporary living situations, and on sanctuary schools. On support for students in temporary living situations, the union declares the current language is “precedent-setting.”
Rather than push for more on housing provisions, the bargaining team states it has been focused on other protections for students such as class size and staffing and for members such as veteran teachers and paraprofessional pay. — Hannah Leone
10:20 a.m.: Mayor Lori Lightfoot hopeful for a deal today, but no union commitment yet
After reading “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse” to children inside the Kennicott Park gym, Lightfoot said she hopes the union will accept the deal she’s offered.
But Lightfoot also acknowledged she does not have a commitment from Chicago Teachers Union leadership to do so.
“This has been a long journey. Unfortunately, I think there’s a lot of harm that’s been done to our young people, but my hope is that when the House of Delegates reconvenes today there will be a robust presentation of the tentative agreement that’s on the table and that they will vote on it up or down,” Lightfoot said.
“Obviously I’m hopeful and prayerful that this will be approved,” she added, “but whatever the result is we’ll deal with it at that time.”
She said union and CPS officials should be thinking of the children “whose lives are dramatically affected by their ability to be in class, to connect with their teachers, to have instructional time.”
“These are all the things that we all should keep foremost in our mind and I’m hopeful that we will be in a position later today that this work stoppage is over,” Lightfoot said. “But really the ball is totally in the CTU’s court.”
She added: “Obviously I don’t run the CTU.”
Asked about criticism that she erred in offering the union a 16 percent raise too soon, lessening its leverage as a negotiating tool, Lightfoot said she doesn’t like playing games.
Lightfoot also said she’s not surprised by the length of the strike, alluding to her frequent refrain that the union didn’t negotiate with enough urgency sooner.
“There’s a lot of work that we could have done sooner but we didn’t start to do really until after the strike (started),” Lightfoot said. — Gregory Pratt
10 a.m.: Union, city back at bargaining table
Negotiators from Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union were back at the bargaining table Wednesday morning at Malcolm X College, where TV stations have set up cameras outside building awaiting word in the rain of news.
If the Chicago Teachers Union can zero in on a tentative agreement with CPS and the city, CTU leaders have said they will call another meeting of their House of Delegates, who would vote on whether to suspend the strike.
Once a tentative deal is reached, the full membership of the union — about 25,000 people — would then vote on whether to accept the agreement. — Hannah Leone
10 a.m.: National union president recalls watching her own mother strike, and ‘solidarity muffins’ at Chalmers School
Rain poured down as students heading into the school were hugged and greeted by their teachers who were on the Chalmers School picket line on Roosevelt Road.
“How’s everything at home, are you doing okay?” a teacher asked, giving a young boy a squeeze.
“Y’all hang in there,” said an older man with his head down as he walked through the rain.
A few moments later, a stranger dropped off a box of Dunkin’ coffee and donuts for the teachers and drove away.
“This neighborhood is very supportive because they know what we’re fighting for,” said Chalmers union delegate Maggie Sermont, who teaches special education.
To Sermont, one of the most important issues the teachers are striking for is prep time, of which she said 30 minutes was built in until 2012.
Around 9 a.m., the teachers excitedly greeted Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. They crowded around Weingarten under a tent as she thanked them for their efforts on the picket lines, especially given the weather.
“We’re now into one day longer, one day stronger,” she told the teachers. “This is a 20 year struggle and you are at the tip of it.”
As Weingarten answered questions, a man approached the tent and began hanging out “solidarity muffins.” The teachers didn’t know him and he identified himself simply as “the muffin man.”
Weingarten recalled the power of seeing her mother, who was a teacher in New York, on strike for six weeks. She credited both the bargaining team and the picketing teachers for the union’s success so far.
“The only way we win these things is for people to understand that we’re all in this together for our kids,” Weingarten said. — Marie Fazio
9:45 a.m.: 2nd grade teacher starting to feel the ‘grueling’ impact of picketing
Amy Penna, a 2nd grade teacher at Hamilton Elementary School, could feel the impact of picketing on day 10 of the strike, she said. Penna stood outside the school with around 30 other CTU supporters and teachers holding umbrellas up high.
“It’s grueling, we’re lucky at Hamilton to have a lot of support,” she said. “The issues are important but it’s infuriating that it’s taken this long. We want to go back, but a fair contract needs to be reached.”
Penna said she’s been working especially hard over the last three weeks to keep spirits up and has brought her two children to most marches and picket lines.
“We’ve all had some really dark days but we’re leaning on each other,” she said.
Holding a small umbrella of her own, Para Penna, 7, asked her mom if it was time for them to go home. The elder Penna said they’d head home soon and handed the girl a pair of hand warmers for the time being.
“I miss school, I don’t like this,” the younger Penna said. “I’ve been at school since preschool and it’s been like a second home for me.” — Jessica Villagomez
8:30 a.m.: Teacher says she’s disheartened by Lightfoot’s handling of strike
At Lincoln Park High School, teachers wearing red rain ponchos stood underneath umbrellas and small canopies set up on the sidewalk of the school.
One English teacher, who did not want to give the Tribune her name, said picketing has been especially tiring. “This is round two for me,” she said, referring to her participation in the 2012 strike.
She said that she is disheartened by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handling of the strike.
She pointed to the robocall sent out to students Tuesday afternoon that said officials would wait until after the union’s House of Delegates meeting to determine whether to cancel classes Wednesday. The union said Tuesday that Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson were “toying with families” by putting the onus on teachers and hinting the strike could be over.
“I thought she was more supportive and forthright and it makes me kind of sad because I actually kind of like her,” she said.
As teachers milled around to the sound of music coming from a small speaker, the teacher reflected on how much she has appreciated community support. Parents have been delivering breakfast for teachers almost everyday and strangers have dropped off donuts and coffee, she said. — Jessica Villagomez
7:36 a.m.: Former CTU President Karen Lewis writes open letter on the teachers strike
Karen Lewis, the former head of the Chicago Teachers Union who led the group through a 2012 work stoppage, wrote an open letter about the ongoing walkout, released late on Tuesday. Lewis is now CTU president emerita, and has battled cancer and other health issues in recent years. Read the letter here.
7:00 a.m.: Pickets resume on 10th day of strike
Pickets returned at the more than 500 schools in the Chicago Public Schools system Wednesday morning.
A noon CTU rally was planned at Clark and Roosevelt roads, a day after several protesters were arrested during a rally at the offices of the developer of the massive Lincoln Yards development.
Then at 4 p.m. members at SEIU Local 73, support staff who previously reached a tentative agreement with Chicago Public Schools, are to announce the result of their contract ratification vote.
Wednesday, 1 a.m.: CTU asks members to read report on status of prominent issues
In an early morning e-mailed update to members, the CTU leadership said they posted a detailed report on the status of the most prominent bargaining issues. They asked members to spend time Wednesday reading the updates and “measure what we have gained and what we are still determined to gain.”
The update continued:
“With those things in mind, CTU members should discuss seriously the probabilities, risks and rewards to be gained by staying out. It will be up to our members to decide when we have won enough for our schools to accept an agreement and come off the picket lines. As President Sharkey noted the other night, we don’t want to be out on strike, but we are less concerned with a fast resolution than with a just resolution.”
What do you think about the Chicago teachers strike?
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