State strike law is 0 for 2
Friday, Sep 27, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Remember when the state passed a law requiring 75 percent of Chicago teachers to vote in favor of authorizing a walkout before a strike could happen? It didn’t stop the CTU in 2012, when 90 percent of teachers and 98 percent of those who cast ballots voted to authorize a strike, and it didn’t stop the CTU this time, either…
The Chicago Teachers Union voted in overwhelming numbers to authorize a strike, union officials announced late Thursday. The union is planning to set a strike date next Wednesday. Teachers likely will walk out in mid-October if no deal is reached by then.
CTU leaders said 94% of members had voted in favor of a strike, surpassing the 75% threshold required by law. Some 90% of the ballots had been counted Thursday night.
* Sun-Times…
The earliest the union’s 25,000 teachers could strike is Oct. 7, though indications from the CTU are that a walkout would come closer to mid-October. […]
With the vote, the CTU joins more than 7,000 members of SEIU Local 73 who already voted in favor of a strike. SEIU represents school support staff workers at CPS who include special education classroom assistants, bus aides, security guards and custodians. Park District workers have also authorized a strike, possibly putting a dent in the city’s usual plan during a teachers’ strike of sending the about 300,000 students at district-run schools to Park District buildings. […]
“We’ve had a very successful launch of the start of school,” the mayor told reporters at a South Side event. “Our kids are involved and engaged in their extra-curricular activities. They’re bonding with their teachers. Having a strike would be catastrophic for the learning environment for our kids. We can’t lose sight of that.
* Tribune…
“In our schools, there’s lots of different pieces that go into making that ecosystem the kind of learning environment where our kids can be successful and thrive. Of course teachers are a big part of that but, fundamentally, we’ve got to focus on our kids and keeping them in school,” Lightfoot said. “We know that kids who stay in school are much less likely to be victims of crime and much less likely to be perpetrators of crime, so putting 360,000 kids on the street when a deal is right here at our fingertips, how does that make sense? It doesn’t.”
Davis Gates challenged the mayor, saying the city doesn’t adequately fund after-school programs.
“To immediately go to crime and to try to shift blame to teachers for crime and to label our students as perpetrators is absolutely irresponsible,” Davis Gates said. “… She is out of line and she needs to apologize to our members for making such a gross offensive statement, and she needs to apologize to our students and our families for labeling them as criminals.”
…Adding… Five presidential candidates support the CTU…
