Chicago Teachers Continue to Strike: Mayor Rahm Emanuel Strikes Back
Close just wasn’t close enough as Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union walked away from negotiations without ending the strike. Today, Chicago Teachers Union at least 26,000 strong, have returned to the picket lines.
CTU President Karen Lewis says the contract presented by Chicago Public Schools was not finished. It’s “still not quite finished in terms of language. We would like to go back to their members, have discussions with them. We will reconvene here on Tuesday.”
The union will not meet today to observe the religious holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
Chicago Teachers vowed they will stay out of class until at least Wednesday. Chicago Public Schools students — 350,000 who reside in the most dangerous city in the nation for youths — will remain out of the classroom and without structured learning programs.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the teachers are acting illegally and he took swift action to force an end to the strike.
“This continued action by union leadership is illegal on two grounds,” Emanuel said. “It is over issues that are deemed by state law to be non-strikable, and it endangers the health and safety of our children.”
