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School closings

As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.

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Chicago Teachers Union

For the Record: Mayor Emanuel’s ad September 25, 2012 By: Sarah Karp In the wake of the recent teachers’ strike, the September board meeting started out as mostly a congratulatory session among board members, district officials and the union leadership, who lauded each other for working long hours to craft a deal. But when Chicago Teachers Union Recording Secretary Michael Brunson came up to the podium, he issued a bit of a warning, saying the television ad featuring Mayor Rahm Emanuel touting the supposed wins in the contract is not helpful. Read More \| (10) Comments	Delegates: Strike is over September 18, 2012 By: Sarah Karp and Rebecca Harris Claiming some major wins and gearing up for a renewed battle against school closings, Chicago Teachers Union delegates voted on Tuesday to suspend the strike. Classes will resume Wednesday morning, a relief for parents who had supported teachers but were ready for the strike to end. Leaving the meeting, delegates looked happy and said they felt victorious. “We are happy to be able to go back with dignity,” said Adam Heenan, the delegate from Curie High School. Read More \| (6) Comments
Union to vote Tuesday: Suspend strike or go back to negotiations September 17, 2012 By: Sarah Karp On Tuesday, one of two things will happen in the ongoing Chicago teachers strike: The House of Delegates will suspend the strike, or they will send their leaders back to the negotiation table—a move that will likely kick off a complicated legal battle over whether the strike is legal at all. On Monday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Peter Flynn declined to hold a hearing on the city’s motion for an injunction to “immediately” get students back in school, questioning why a hearing couldn't wait till Wednesday, when the strike could be over. Read More \| (11) Comments	Mayor wants injunction to stop strike, union wants more time to consider deal September 16, 2012 By: Sarah Karp Within an hour after CTU’s House of Delegates refused to vote to suspend the week-long teachers’ strike, Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued a statement saying he has told city lawyers to ask a judge to force teachers to go back to work. Read More \| (3) Comments
Union releases deal details September 16, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris On Saturday night, the Chicago Teachers Union released the most detailed information so far on its "agreement in principle" with CPS. But nothing is final yet. The union's House of Delegates will meet Sunday at 3 p.m. at 2260 S. Grove to vote on three possible options: accepting the agreement and ending the strike; continuing the strike; or taking 24 hours to discuss the deal with rank and file members, and returning to vote on Monday. Read More \| (6) Comments	CTU Strike: Day 4 September 13, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris As negotiations dragged on into Thursday night, it began to seem doubtful whether CPS and the union would reach a deal by Friday's 2 p.m. House of Delegates meeting. Read More \| (0) Comments
Strike Day 3: Negotiators report movement, CPS makes new offer September 13, 2012 By: Sarah Karp and Rebecca Harris In the new contract proposal released late Wednesday night, CPS seems to have sweetened the deal for good displaced teachers. It is unclear if the CTU is happy with this new proposal, but leaving negotiations, CTU President Karen Lewis indicated she is hopeful that on Friday students could be back at school. In addition to teacher evaluation, a sticking point in this contract is the fate of teachers laid off because their school or position was closed. Read More \| (9) Comments	For the Record: Teacher evaluation in contract talks September 12, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Sparring between CPS and CTU has recently focused on the issue of state-required teacher evaluations, with the union lambasting plans for a new evaluation system, first detailed in March. The union says thousands of teachers could be at risk of being fired in the program’s first two years. But CPS says this is inaccurate. Read More \| (17) Comments
In the News: CPS custodians may join striking teachers September 12, 2012 By: Cassandra West A union representing some Chicago Public Schools custodians has given notice that its workers may soon stop crossing picket lines in solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union, whose members are on strike. Read More \| (4) Comments

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