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The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to challenge plans to reopen Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for teachers and staff due to coronavirus concerns, the union announced on Sunday.
The teachers’ union in the country’s third-largest school district has decided to allow all educators to work remotely from Monday, when K-8 staff were due to return in person.
CTU reported that 86 percent of its 25,000 members participated in electronic voting Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Seventy-one percent of voting members decided to deny the district’s current plan to return to in-person learning.
“What does that mean?” reading a CTU version. “It means that the overwhelming majority of you have chosen safety. The PSC did everything to divide us by creating fear through threats of retaliation, but you still chose unity, solidarity and to act collectively as one.
the Chicago Sun-Times called the vote “unusually close for CTU union actions,” noting that 94% of voting members in 2019 decided to strike.
Chicago district officials sent a letter to families on Sunday in response to the vote, saying the teachers’ return date will be postponed to Wednesday to allow more time for negotiations and avoid “risking disrupting student learning “. They said they hoped to reach a deal with the union “as soon as possible” and that the February 1 return date for students remains in effect.
“Us now agree on much more than we disagree, but our discussions are still ongoing and more time is needed to reach a resolution, ”reads the letter obtained by The Hill.
The teachers’ union and the CPS would quarrel district plan to require most teachers and staff to work in person for weeks. According to the plan, staff and teachers were expected to return on Monday, with K-8 students having the opportunity to learn in person starting February 1.
CPS previously educated most of its pre-kindergarten and special education staff to return to school earlier this month, with students returning on Jan.11. But the district reported that 49 percent of those who said they would return by the Jan. 11 start date have it, representing 19 percent of the student body.
In their letter, officials said preschool and special education staff should continue to report in person to work, despite the delay of other staff. The district has already blocked remote work and stopped paying a few dozen of those teachers who previously did not return to work in person.
CTU said its vote did not constitute a strike because teachers have pledged to continue remote work although the district does not allow it. The union said it would strike if no deal was reached by Wednesday and the CPS was preventing K-8 teachers from working from home.
District officials and city health commissioner Allison Arwady have expressed confidence in the plan to reopen the CPS, and the Sun-Times reported the district spent $ 44 million on disinfectants, PPE, air purifiers and other measures to prevent the spread.
But the teachers’ union is still seeking answers to several questions, including whether staff whose household member has certain medical conditions can be allowed to work from home and whether there will be an increase in testing for staff and students. .
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