The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to challenge Chicago Public Schools (CPS) reopening plans for teachers and staff due to concerns about the coronavirus. announced the union Sunday.
The teachers ’union in the nation’s third-largest school district decided to allow all educators to do distance work starting Monday, the day Kindergarten staff up to the eighth grade were expected to return in person. .
The CTU reported that 86 percent of its 25,000 members participated in electronic voting on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Seventy-one percent of voting members decided to deny the district’s current plan to return to face-to-face learning.
“What does it mean?” a version of the CTU was read. “It means that the vast majority of you have chosen security. CPS did its best to divide us by instilling fear through threats of retaliation, but you still chose unity, solidarity and acting collectively as one thing. “
He Chicago Sun-Times he described the vote as “unusually close to CTU’s labor actions” and noted that 94% of voting members in 2019 decided to go on strike.
Chicago district officials sent a letter to families Sunday in response to the vote, saying teachers’ return dates will be delayed until Wednesday to allow more time for negotiations and avoid “risking altering the law.” ‘student learning’. They noted that they hoped to reach an agreement with the union “as soon as possible” and that the February 1 student return date is still in effect.
“It simply came to our notice then we agree on much more than we disagree, but our discussions are still ongoing and more time is needed to reach a resolution, “the letter from The Hill said.
The teachers’ union and CPS they have been in dispute on the district’s plan to require most teachers and staff to work in person for weeks. According to the plan, staff and teachers were due back on Monday, and K-8 students had the option to learn in person starting February 1st.
CPS previously instructed most of its special education and preschool staff will have to return to schools earlier this month, with students returning by Jan. 11. But the district reported that 49% of those who said they would return by the Jan. 11 start date, representing 19 percent of the student population.
In their letter, officials said special education and preschool staff are expected to continue to personally report work, despite the delay for other staff. The district has already blocked remote work and stopped paying a few dozen of these teachers who previously did not return to work in person.
The CTU has said its vote does not qualify as a strike, as teachers have pledged to continue working remotely, even though the district does not allow it. The union said it would go on strike if no agreement was reached on Wednesday and CPS is preventing K-8 teachers from working from home.
District officials and City Health Commissioner Allison Arwady have expressed confidence in the CPS reopening plan and the Sun-Times has reported that the district has spent $ 44 million on disinfectants, PPE, purifiers of air and other measures to prevent spread.
But the teachers’ union continues to look for answers to various questions, such as whether staff with a home member with certain medical conditions can be allowed to work from home and whether there will be an increase in testing for staff and students.