Chicago Teachers Union members narrowly voted to defy Chicago Public Schools’ reopening plans and continue working from home Monday because of health and safety concerns.
City officials had said they would view the collective refusal of in-person work as a strike, but in response to Sunday’s vote results said they will delay the scheduled return of thousands of teachers and staff until Wednesday “to ensure we have the time needed to resolve our discussions without risking disruption to student learning.”
The CTU’s move to reject in-person work marks the culmination of a months-long fight between the union and the nation’s third-largest school system over how and when to reopen schools during the pandemic — a disagreement that threatens to plunge the city’s education into deeper turmoil if a deal isn’t reached over the next few days.
“So what does this mean? It means the overwhelming majority of you have chosen safety,” the union told teachers and staff as they announced the vote results. “CPS did everything possible to divide us by instilling fear though threats of retaliation, but you still chose unity, solidarity and to collectively act as one.”
About 86% of the 25,000 rank-and-file CTU members voted on the resolution to stay home from schools, and 71% of those members approved the collective action. If the full membership is considered, 61% gave their approval in an unusually close vote for CTU labor actions. When the CTU voted to strike in 2019, 94% of all members chose to walk out.
Illinois law requires three-quarters of CTU members to authorize a typical contract strike, such as the one two in 2019. The union has said that a strike this time around would come in response to several alleged unfair labor practices by CPS, and that only a simple majority in favor is required — though the CTU said last week it would raise the bar to 60% to show its unity.
Union leadership has been adamant this decision is not a strike since teachers intend to continue working from home — an option the school district is no longer allowing for about half of union members starting this week.
If no agreement is reached come Wednesday, it remains unclear if CPS would lock out all its teachers from remote work as it has done with a few dozen pre-Kindergarten and special education staff members who have not reported to work as ordered this month. The union has said it would strike in that scenario.
About 3,800 preschool and special education cluster program teachers and staff were ordered to return to schools earlier this month for the resumption of in-person learning for their students. Another 10,000 staff members in kindergarten through eighth grades were due back Monday. K-8 schools are scheduled to reopen Feb. 1 for an estimated 71,000 students who have said they plan to return.
Schools chief Janice Jackson wrote in an email to families Sunday the return of K-8 teachers and staff will be pushed back to Wednesday as the two sides continue to negotiate, but pre-K and cluster staff will be expected to keep reporting to schools this week. Jackson said the district’s goal is “to reach an agreement with CTU as soon as possible,” and that CPS still plans for K-8 students to return Feb. 1.
When asked on Friday if the union’s walkout would mean even remote learning would come to a halt, Jackson said, “I think my point was clear that if the union refuses to work on Monday, that constitutes a strike.”
Jackson said it would be unfair to deny families the opportunity to return to schools, and she and City Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady expressed strong confidence that all necessary precautions have been taken to keep students and staff safe from COVID-19. The district has spent $44 million on disinfectants, PPE, air purifiers and other measures to ready schools for the return of staff and students.
It’s also not clear, however, how many of those K-8 students will actually follow through with their intentions to return to classrooms. CPS officials on Friday released attendance data from the first week of school for pre-K and cluster students that revealed an average of only 3,189 of the 6,470 students who opted in — 49% — returned to classrooms each day.
That meant only 19% of the 16,944 eligible students were learning in-person that week.
Teachers have shown serious concerns about their health in schools they believe won’t uniformly or strictly enforce mitigation protocols. The teachers union and its medical consultant, national expert Dr. Vin Gupta, have advocated for a slower, more phased-in approach to reopening schools that coincides with teacher vaccinations. School staffers in Illinois are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccinations starting Monday, and some suburbs are prioritizing teachers for those shots over other essential workers.
