After defying an order to return to school buildings they deemed unsafe, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has voted to approve a significantly revised plan to reopen elementary schools next month. On Tuesday, 13,681 CTU members (68% of those who participated) voted to approve the agreement, while 6,585 members voted against it. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) had …
This week, the first wave of children, teachers and clinicians in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system were required to appear at their schools for the first time in nearly a year. While Covid-19 cases and deaths have only increased (and increased dramatically) across the country since last spring, CPS officials and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot insist …
How Chicago Teachers Are Resisting the City’s Dangerous School Reopenings Read More »
As the coronavirus pandemic enters its deadliest phase yet, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and its allies are resisting Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to reopen school buildings and resume in-person learning this month. Over 10,000 CTU members have pledged their opposition to the reopening plan put forward by the mayor and Chicago Public Schools (CPS), citing serious concerns over safety …
Chicago Teachers Are Considering a Strike Amid Pandemic Surge Read More »
Teachers in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, walked out on strike December 2 for the first time since 1983. Why now? The state was trying to privatize public education. The local school board was trying to balance the budget on our backs. Add to that a once-in-a-century pandemic. A well-organized membership was determined not to bend to …
Cleveland Heights Teachers Strike in the Snow, Beating Austerity with Solidarity Read More »
In addition to safety measures, some unions are pressing for police-free schools, canceling rents and mortgages, and bans on new charter programs and standardized testing. Teachers won newfound respect at the start of the pandemic as parents learned just how difficult it was to teach their kids at home. But teachers unions now risk squandering …
Teachers unions test goodwill with strike threats, hardball negotiations Read More »
The American Federation of Teachers will support its members if they decide to strike over the rush to reopen schools without regard for safety, the union announced Tuesday. The union has been pushing for increased federal funding to help schools reopen safely, but with Mitch McConnell’s Senate taking its sweet time and Donald Trump demanding in-person schooling regardless of …
Major teachers union will back ‘safety strikes’ to block unsafe school reopening Read More »
Chicago teachers and staff returned to the classrooms Friday after more than two weeks on strike. Their walkout lasted longer than the city’s landmark 2012 strike, as well as those in Los Angeles and Oakland earlier this year. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike also lasted long enough for the season’s first snowstorm to blanket …
Democratic-leaning executives on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley and across the corporate world are watching Elizabeth Warren’s rise to frontrunner status in the Democratic primary with an increasing sense of existential panic. And they feel mostly paralyzed to do much about it — other than throwing money at other candidates and praying. Warren’s grassroots fundraising …
Corporate America freaks out over Elizabeth Warren Read More »
As a pink sunrise painted the sky on Thursday morning, horns blared seemingly nonstop from semi trucks, commuters’ cars, a concrete mixer and countless other vehicles. They were all supporting members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and SEIU Local 73, which represents school support staff, on the picket line before dawn outside John A. …
As 35,000 Chicago teachers, school support staff, and park district workers are set to begin a major strike on October 17, they boast the backing of students, parents, community organizations, and local unions who see the potential work stoppage as a crucial battle in the fight for a more just and equitable city. Thanks to …
Chicago Teachers Won Public Support for Their Strike. Here’s How. Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
