As Chicago’s teachers began voting Tuesday on whether to strike over their contract demands, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city is preparing for the looming walkout but is still focused on hammering out a deal.
Lightfoot was asked Tuesday whether the city, the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District and other agencies of local government are preparing contingency plans to keep students safe and occupied in the event of a teachers strike.
“Well, we’re always gonna be prepared. We owe that to our students,” the mayor said. “But, what our primary focus — both at the mayor’s office and CPS — is on [is] getting a deal done. That’s where we’re spending most of our time.”
The Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Local 73 — which represents more than 7,000 special education classroom assistants, bus aides, security guards and custodians, who are also threatening to strike — are holding a labor rally Tuesday evening with Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) at CTU headquarters on the Near West Side. Striking General Motors auto workers from Michigan are also expected to attend.
Lightfoot said she’s not at all surprised that Sanders decided to appear at the CTU rally to show his solidarity with teachers or that challenger Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has also articulated her support.
“It’s not a surprise to me that Democratic contenders for the presidency support working families and support teachers. So do I. It’s part of who we are as Democrats,” the mayor said.
In a news release promoting Sanders’ appearance, the CTU said: “Senator Sanders has been a stalwart supporter of union workers and their right to strike when necessary for dignity and decent wages and working conditions. He has also championed quality health care for all, a key issue in bargaining for both the CTU and SEIU Local 73.”
Sanders last week posted a message of support on Twitter for the city’s teachers: “I stand with the educators and support staff of [CTU] and [SEIU Local 73] in their fight for the schools Chicago’s students deserve. It’s unconscionable for wealthy corporations to receive massive tax breaks while children go without school nurses and librarians.”
CTU members are taking a strike authorization vote from Tuesday to Thursday. If it passes with at least 75% of the votes, the union’s House of Delegates is expected to set a strike date at its meeting next Wednesday. Though the earliest a walkout could happen is Oct. 7, indications from the CTU are that a strike would come closer to mid-October.
Both the CTU and Lightfoot have expressed interest in agreeing to a deal to avert a work stoppage.
The city has offered both the CTU and SEIU a pay and benefits package that includes 16% raises over five years, and Lightfoot said again Tuesday that she would be willing to sit at the CTU bargaining table herself to hammer out a deal.
But union leaders have said the contract is about more than just money, as the two sides remain in negotiations over teacher preparation time, class size and staffing shortages.
