Chicago teachers to go on strike; 400,000 students out of school
Baku, September 10 (AZERTAC). Just days after their school year started, 400,000 Chicago students will be out of school indefinitely as their teachers go on strike Monday in the country's third-largest school district.
Almost 30,000 teachers and support staff are off the job after their union and school officials failed to reach a contract agreement despite 400 hours of negotiations. The strike is Chicago's first in 25 years.
The flood of out-of-class students from nearly 700 schools is prompting police to beef up operations. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the department will be "emptying out our offices" to send police assigned to administrative duties out on the street.
"The kids in Chicago belong in the classroom," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told reporters Sunday night, after the talks failed. "Our kids do not deserve this."
The sticking point for the union and the school system centered around issues such as compensation, merit pay and an evaluation system.
"Negotiations have been intense but productive, but we have failed to reach an agreement that would prevent a labor strike," Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis told reporters late Sunday night.
The district said 144 schools will be open with limited hours, but parents are strongly encouraged "to first explore other options for their children."
"We know that a strike will put a strain on many families, and no one will be hurt more by a strike than our students," Chicago Public Schools said on its website.
Minutes before the union announced the impending strike, the president of Chicago's school board said officials offered the city's teachers a contract including pay increases and other measures they'd requested.
Mayor Emanuel said he was disappointed at the impasse Sunday night, saying he believed the offers laid out were fair to both teachers and taxpayers.
But, he said, his staff is ready to keep working to "close the gap" between negotiators.
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