The Chicago Teachers Union narrowly averted a planned strike, announcing a tentative deal with Chicago Public Schools minutes before a midnight deadline on Oct. 10. The new contract agreement comes four years after teachers in the nation’s third-largest school district walked off the job to demand better pay and benefits.

“Clearly, we had some issues, and there’s some things we’re going to still be working on,” said union president Karen Lewis. “What we ended up with is something that’s good for kids, is good for clinicians, is good for paraprofessionals, for teachers, for the community.”

The Chicago Teachers Union won several victories in the new contract, including commitments from the school board on layoffs and class sizes. The union also prevented the city from ending its 7 percent contribution to current teachers’ pensions. 

The pension contribution will be eliminated for new hires, but those teachers will receive two raises to their base salary totaling 7 percent. 

Chicago Tribune, Oct. 11
DNAinfo, Oct. 14