Chicago Teachers Union Reports Progress in Averting a Strike

Labor News

Reprinted from The Chicago Tribune by February 1, 2021.

Withdrawing threats to lock out educators who refused to work in person Monday, Chicago Public Schools and city officials called for a two-day “cooling-off” period during which educators will be allowed to teach remotely and students will continue learning from home.

“We have reached another important milestone today in our efforts to provide in-person learning for our students,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a joint statement Monday afternoon. “We have secured agreement on one other open issue and made substantial progress on a framework that we hope will address the remaining issues. We are calling for a 48-hour cooling off period that will hopefully lead to a final resolution on all open issues.”

That’s no guarantee negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union will stop being heated, though it’s a sign of how much has changed since Lightfoot and CPS officials initially insisted they did not have to negotiate a reopening plan with the 25,000-member union. …

Chicago Tribune 2/1

About Jeffrey Burman 861 Articles
Jeff Burman served on the Guild’s Board of Directors from 1992 to 2019. He is now retired. He can be reached at jeffrey.s.burman.57@gmail.com.