The Chicago teachers union is gauging members’ support for a strike to force a return to remote learning amid a COVID-19 surge just as students are set to return from winter break.
Earlier this week, the union issued a survey asking its members what actions they would support to “force CPS to improve its COVID safety measures,” including participation in a “citywide work stoppage.”
The survey also offered alternative actions such as holding a “car caravan or outdoor rally,” holding a meeting of the “school safety committee,” or handing out flyers to parents “in a socially distant masked manner.”
The union has repeatedly criticized Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot for refusing to “take leadership in protecting families and communities from COVID,” and it is pushing for the city’s public schools to switch back to remote learning.
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In a Tuesday tweet, the union said the agreement it had struck with Chicago public schools last winter stipulates that “a two-week period of remote learning” would take place if three different criteria regarding coronavirus spread in the area were met.
https://twitter.com/CTULocal1/status/1475982869969448964?s=20“As of Dec. 20-23, we have hit all three marks in the system-wide closure metric that the mayor and CPS agreed to last year,” the union said.
Chicago public schools are on winter break, but students are scheduled to return to classrooms on Monday, Jan. 3.
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In a letter to Lightfoot, union President Jesse Sharkey said, “We urgently need you to direct your CPS team to work cooperatively with us to develop and deploy robust safety protocols that will maximize protections for students and educators returning on January 3.”
