Chicago Teachers Union Holds Off On Setting Strike Date
UPDATED: 7:53 p.m. May 4, 2016
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Teachers Union did not vote to set a strike date at a meeting of union's house of delegates Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, the union appeared to be backing away from an end-of-year strike, but when the mayor applauded teachers for not walking out before the summer, union leaders said they had yet to decide whether to strike in the coming weeks, or wait until next school year.
University of Illinois labor professor Robert Bruno said a strike at the end of the school year could cost teachers pay and health care benefits at a time they can least afford it. Those concerns largely go away if they wait until next school year to walk out.
"Even if there were some lost days of pay, there's a high likelihood – just like in 2012 – at the end of the school year, you're going to tack those days on, and you're probably not going to lose," he said.
After the 2012 teachers' strike, CPS scheduled makeup days for all days teachers were off the job.
If teachers were to go on strike starting May 16 – the first day they can legally walk off the job – it's unlikely the district could make up lost school days, costing the teachers up to a month's pay, and a full summer of health care coverage, according to Bruno.
That's why many analysts said it's unlikely teachers will agree to a year-end strike.
A CPS spokeswoman released a statement that said in part, "CPS is focused on reaching a deal with the CTU that will prevent a strike and keep students in the classroom to continue the remarkable academic progress they're making with the help of their teachers and parents. We urge the CTU's leadership to remain with us at the negotiating table, where we have already hammered out an agreement with the CTU's leadership, and where we know we can reach a final deal – one that we are hopeful CTU members will be allowed to vote on."
"Teachers are about providing solutions to problems; and, CPS and the City have no plan on the table. All they've done is beg a tone deaf governor for a bailout he is unwilling to give," said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey. "We have identified half a billion dollars that can triage the bleeding at CPS. We are asking the mayor and aldermen to implement what we believe is a solid package of financial emergency supports to ensure our district does not go belly up.
The CPS spokeswoman said, "Instead of fighting to fix the state's broken funding formula that discriminates against Chicago children and costs the District more than $500 million a year, the CTU leadership wants to place the entire burden of solving CPS' finances on Chicago taxpayers alone."
