The Chicago Teachers Union will continue
its week-old strike in the nation's third-largest city, extending an
acrimonious standoff with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over teacher evaluations
and job security provisions.
Emanuel said he would seek a court order to end the strike, which he said is illegal under state law.
Karen Lewis, president of the 25,500-member union, said teachers want
the opportunity to continue to discuss the offer that is on the table.
"Our members are not happy," Lewis said. "They want to know if there is anything more they can get."
She added, "They feel rushed."
The
union was considering a proposed contract giving teachers annual raises
over three years and offering some laid-off teachers a first shot at
jobs at other schools.
Officials from the
union and school district met until late Saturday to work out the exact
language of a contract after announcing Friday that they had reached the
"framework" of an agreement that could return 350,000 students to the
classroom.
Many teachers were still unhappy
with the wording of some of the contract provisions contained in a rough
outline provided by the Chicago Teachers Union late Saturday, said
second-grade teacher Julie McDevitt. The contract gives teachers annual
raises, but doesn't restore a 4% raise that was rescinded last year.
Teachers
also expressed concern about overcrowding, scarce office supplies and
an evaluation procedure they said was too heavily based on student test
scores.
"Some teachers are saying no, and some are saying this is pretty good, let's do this," McDevitt said.
The
union's 800-member House of Delegates met to consider the contract
proposal and whether to suspend the walkout that began Monday. Chicago
teachers hadn't gone on strike in 25 years.
The proposal provided by the union includes a 3% raise in the first year
and 2% raises in the second and third years, along with additional pay
based on seniority and advanced education. The district and union would
have the option of extending the contract into a fourth year, with a 3%
raise.
The deal also would create a hiring
pool aiming to give half of open jobs to laid-off teachers. It includes a
new evaluation procedure based in part on student test scores, but
teachers can appeal their ratings, the union said.
"We believe this is a good contract; however, no contract will solve
all of the inequities in our district," Lewis said. But she cautioned
that the group would review the details carefully and that no decision
had been made. If delegates suspend the strike, all teachers would vote
on the contract at a later date.
School board
spokeswoman Becky Carroll said the district would release its own
version of what was in the contract and declined to comment on the
specifics disclosed by the union.
"We feel
very good about the framework and the agreement that's in place. We have
every confidence that school will be back in school on Monday," she
said. "Ultimately, it will rest with the outcome of the House of
Delegates meeting."
The walkout forced
students out of class just after the start of the year. The last major
teacher's strike in a U.S. city was in Detroit six years ago.
The strike erupted after months of bitter contract negotiations amid
disagreement over a new teacher evaluation process the union said was
too heavily based on student test scores. Teachers also hoped to
preserve pay increases based on their seniority and level of education,
and wanted to ensure recall rights for laid-off teachers who want to
work in other schools.
"I'm pretty confident
that something will come together that both sides will agree on, whether
that's tomorrow" or another day, said Ramses James, a sixth-grade math
teacher who joined thousands of teachers and their allies for a rally
Saturday in a city park.
McDevitt said that
some schools would fare better than others, depending on their
individual needs. The contract proposed hiring 600 additional teachers
to teach physical education, art, music and languages, but didn't
specify where the jobs would be filled.
The strike "put into perspective the daily life of a teacher and our basic needs to make a classroom work," she said.
"We're not office workers. We're not lucky enough to walk into a
classroom and (have) everything be equipped for us," she said. "We don't
open our desk drawers and see pencils ... or Post-its. We have to
supply everything for those classrooms."
The
contract calls for reimbursing teachers for up to $250 of what they
spend out of their own pockets, but McDevitt said she's already spent
$477 for classroom supplies and kids have only been in school for a
week.
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