Some 400,000 students across Chicago don’t have to go to class on Thursday after 25,000 teachers began a strike after negotiators failed to agree on a contract.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey, in a news conference outside Peirce Elementary School, said that there “is a pent up frustration from our membership about what conditions are like in our schools.”
The strike is the first major one by teachers since 2012.
Sharkey added to The Associated Press: “As of right now, as of this moment, we have still not seen those promises in writing. That’s important and frankly it’s important what the words actually are. We don’t want a half measure, we want some of these basic conditions completely addressed.”
Parents were encouraged to register their children online for the duration of the strike as all CPS schools will serve breakfast and lunch to students.
Chicago Transit buses are also offering free rides for students amid the strike.
Teacher John Houlihan, in a protest near Smyth Elementary, stated “we’re not fighting for paychecks and health care. It’s the kids.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, said she isn’t pleased by the move to strike.
“We are offering a historic package on the core issues—salary, staffing and class size,” she said on Wednesday.
Chicago has “bent over backwards” to meet their demands, she remarked.
The CTU’s requests would tack on about $2.5 billion to the annual school district’s budget. That’s “completely irresponsible,” Lightfoot said.
“Since Friday, we’ve discussed a framework that puts enforceable targets on class sizes in high-poverty schools and staffing level supports for personnel in the contract,“ she said on Wednesday. ”The union said that these were its two most important issues. They wanted us to put it in writing, and that’s exactly what we did.”