BY DANIEL VILLARREAL ON 1/12/22
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union berated their union's chiefs for accepting a return-to-work deal that left out many of the safety measures and reassurances that educators wanted amid rising COVID-19 case numbers.
The deal was accepted by only 55.5 percent of the union's 600 members. The agreement will end five days of canceled classes amid union negotiations.
On Wednesday evening, union chiefs presented the deal to union members during a virtual meeting. Chiefs called the deal "more than nothing, but less than what we wanted," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. During the meeting, teachers yelled at union officials for negotiating an agreement that fell short of their desired safety demands.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey blamed Chicago Lori Lightfoot for rejecting key union requests such as the ability to randomly test students for COVID-19 and move to virtual learning as the city experiences an unprecedented spike in new COVID-19 cases.
"This vote is a clear show of dissatisfaction with the boss," Sharkey said in a statement. "Put bluntly, we have a boss who does not know how to negotiate, does not know how to hear real concerns and is not willing to respect our rank and file enough to listen to us when we tell her we need more protection."
The agreement guaranteed more masks, test screenings and time-off related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agreement established metrics for shutting down individual schools, based on the number of students and staff members absent due to COVID-19. It also said that the district would purchase KN95 masks for students and teachers and provide daily COVID-19 screening questions for anyone entering schools.
Additionally, the agreement added incentives for hiring more substitute teachers in case of worker shortages. Teachers will be allowed to take unpaid leave related to COVID-19, to help care for their own illness or their increased risk of exposure, WGN-TV reported.
It also expands COVID-19 testing for teachers and students, but it didn't implement the union's desired program for randomly testing all students unless parents opted out.
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union berated their union's chiefs for accepting a return-to-work deal that left out many of the safety measures and reassurances that educators wanted amid rising COVID-19 case numbers.
The deal was accepted by only 55.5 percent of the union's 600 members. The agreement will end five days of canceled classes amid union negotiations.
On Wednesday evening, union chiefs presented the deal to union members during a virtual meeting. Chiefs called the deal "more than nothing, but less than what we wanted," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. During the meeting, teachers yelled at union officials for negotiating an agreement that fell short of their desired safety demands.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey blamed Chicago Lori Lightfoot for rejecting key union requests such as the ability to randomly test students for COVID-19 and move to virtual learning as the city experiences an unprecedented spike in new COVID-19 cases.
"This vote is a clear show of dissatisfaction with the boss," Sharkey said in a statement. "Put bluntly, we have a boss who does not know how to negotiate, does not know how to hear real concerns and is not willing to respect our rank and file enough to listen to us when we tell her we need more protection."
The agreement guaranteed more masks, test screenings and time-off related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agreement established metrics for shutting down individual schools, based on the number of students and staff members absent due to COVID-19. It also said that the district would purchase KN95 masks for students and teachers and provide daily COVID-19 screening questions for anyone entering schools.
Additionally, the agreement added incentives for hiring more substitute teachers in case of worker shortages. Teachers will be allowed to take unpaid leave related to COVID-19, to help care for their own illness or their increased risk of exposure, WGN-TV reported.
It also expands COVID-19 testing for teachers and students, but it didn't implement the union's desired program for randomly testing all students unless parents opted out.
Chicago teachers have agreed to go back into the classroom after union negotiations, with more masks, test screenings and time-off related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this photo, thousands of Chicago teachers' union members march through the streets near City Hall during the 11th day of an ongoing teachers strike on October 31, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.SCOTT HEINS/GETTY
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