Chicago teachers' strike is over, students and educators will return to school on Friday, mayor says
Source: CNN
(CNN)The 11-day Chicago teachers strike is over and classes will resume Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union reached an agreement, Lightfoot told reporters Thursday afternoon. The mayor said the deal will result in five days of classes being made up. The union wanted twice as many days to be added to the calendar but agreed to the compromise, a mayoral spokesperson said.
"In the interest of our students and parents who have been suffering, it was important to me to make sure that we get our kids back in class," Lightfoot said. "Enough is enough. And so, in the spirit of compromise, we agreed."
The compromise marked a reversal of Lightfoot's initial position. She had said teachers would not get the days back from when they were on strike and that pushing the issue would just keep students out of school longer. The school system had reached a tentative agreement with the union late Wednesday but the union said it wanted a firm commitment on the makeup days.
Union members went to City Hall Thursday to ask for the extra school days. School districts typically add the lost days to the end of the school year, so the number of instructional days remains the same, CTU spokesman Eric Ruder said. But that issue is settled in the process of agreeing to a new contract, he said.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/31/us/chicago-teacher-strike-thursday-makeup-days/index.html
Original article -
The 11-day Chicago teachers' strike is over and classes will resume Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
School officials and the Chicago Teachers Union reached an agreement, Lightfoot told reporters Thursday afternoon.
The mayor said the deal will result in five days of classes being made up. The union wanted twice as many days, but agreed to the compromise, a mayoral spokesperson said.
(Previous story, published at 2:28 p.m. ET)
Chicago Public Schools has reached a tentative agreement with the city's teachers' union, but the union is asking for extra school days to make up the strike time before returning to the classroom. A House of Delegates vote on Wednesday approved the agreement, but Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey told reporters that did not include a return to work agreement.
The union said they will be at City Hall Thursday to ask for extra school days, marking the 11th day students in the country's third-largest school district will miss class. School districts typically add the lost days to the end of the school year, so the number of instructional days remains the same, CTU spokesman Eric Ruder said. But that issue is settled in the process of agreeing to a new contract, he said.
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