As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
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Teachers "overwhelmingly" authorize strike, media report
By: Sarah Karp / June 10, 2012
Going into the strike vote last Wednesday, CTU president Karen Lewis said she was confident that more than enough of her members would vote to authorize. Such a move would not only logistically give union delegates the right to set the time and place of a strike, should they decide to, but it also would show the mayor and the CPS administration that the teachers still have some power.
It looks like Lewis was right. Though union officials would not confirm, media sources, including the Chicago Sun Times, reported Sunday night that the union handily garnered enough votes. Union officials have said that they will announce the results of the vote early this week, perhaps Monday, and that they were feeling good.
The win is not a huge surprise. Last year, a new law laid out a process for the CTU to call a strike and put in place the requirement that 75 percent of all members vote to authorize. Initially, advocates of the law, called Senate Bill 7, said they thought the provision effectively eliminated the possibility that the CTU could ever strike.
But in recent months, it became increasingly clear that teachers and other school staff were unhappy to the point that they could strike. The union and the district appeared far away from each other in contract negotiations. One main sticking point is whether or how much teachers should be compensated for the longer day that district officials are imposing next year.
CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard plead wotj teachers in the last few weeks, asking them to delay voting. Currently, an independent fact finder is working on report to be released on July 16. He said teachers should wait for the results of that report before authorizing a strike.
Authorization Strike Vote
No one should be surprised that teachers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike, if necessary. We are tired of being blamed for the failure of society to take seriously the number of children in this country living in poverty. As teachers, we cannot solve that problem.
Very little was said by teachers when we did not receive the raise last year that was agreedupon in the contract. All the teachers I know are working 15-20 hours per week for which we are not paid. We also spend a lot of money on things that a private corporation would supply because they are things we need to do our job. When they are not provided we pay for it ourselves.
It seems that now that CPS has the longer day they do not know what to do with it. It will probably be more of the same. Add minutes on to existing classes and everyone at 125 S. will gtive themselves abig pat on the back and feel so pleased that they are making a great impact on the education of children in Chicago.
Mr. Brizzard is running to the press complaining that the union has put teachers under so much pressure to vote yes. The union didn't have to put us under any pressure. All they did was announce the day of the vote and the great majority of us showed up and voted in solidarity for our students, our profession and the strength of our union.
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