CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union have filed unfair labor charges against one another, with each side asking state officials to end the current dispute over in-person learning in their favor.
The latest escalation in the conflict over adequate COVID-19 safety measures in schools comes as CPS saw a new record number of coronavirus cases Tuesday — the last day of classes before the lack of agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union shut down schools districtwide for two days.
Lawyers for CPS are asking the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to issue a cease-and-desist order against CTU and hear the case on an expedited basis.
“On Tuesday, January 4, 2022, the CTU illegally directed its members ... not to report to work as directed but to work remotely instead from January 5 until the earlier of January 18 or when CPS meets certain health metrics,” CPS lawyers said in the filing.
CTU lawyers separately filed charges alleging CPS violated the law by not negotiating an agreement with CPS about school reopenings after the one they signed in February 2021 expired. They’re asking the state to order CPS “to honor the statutory right of employees to refrain from working in dangerous conditions and to allow employees to work remotely.”
District officials had canceled Wednesday classes after the union endorsed the work action Tuesday to refuse to work in person and instead teach remotely during a city spike in infections.
The union tweeted Wednesday that it’s been “inundated with calls and emails this morning from educators” who say they’ve been unable to log into their CPS accounts to teach remotely, as was the CTU’s stated intention.
CPS has not confirmed the lockouts, but many teachers and other school employees have taken to social media to report they’ve been denied access to the CPS computer networks.
The CTU resolution, endorsed by 73% of voting members, seeks to have classes remain remote until Jan. 18 unless a safety agreement with CPS is reached or the omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge subsides. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has denounced the union’s actions as an “unlawful, unilateral strike.” The union has countered that their actions don’t amount to a work stoppage because they are willing to teach remotely.
CPS reported record new daily case numbers on Tuesday — 422 students and 274 adults. That was part of the first data to emerge from the two days of school that took place after the two-week winter break and before the cancellations.
Those figures are double the number of cases CPS was reporting when students and staff members started their holiday vacation last month.
As of Wednesday evening, about 9,000 students and a record 2,300 staff members were in isolation because they tested positive for COVID-19 or quarantine because they had come in close contact with an infected person.
Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady has repeatedly said schools are not dangerous settings for transmission and infection in kids rarely leads to hospitalization.
The status of Friday classes will be on a school-by-school basis, with CPS officials saying they believe some buildings will have adequate staffing to conduct in-person classes and that parents should await word from their children’s principal.
But with so many students and staff out because they have COVID-19 or are a close contact, absenteeism — more than the teachers union action — could be the main reason many classes aren’t meeting.
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