Thousands of Chicago teachers participated in a one-day strike on April 1 to draw attention to the ongoing contract battle between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools over pay, pension and staffing levels in the school district.

The “Day of Action,” spearheaded by the union, canceled classes for more than 300,000 students and included a series of midday rallies where demonstrators lambasted the state’s politicians over what they called inadequate funding and support. “This is not a moment,” Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said to a raucous rally in the campus commons at Chicago State University. “Brothers and sisters, this is a movement.”

In February, the union rejected the Board of Education’s contract proposal, stating it did not “address the difficult conditions in the schools, the lack of services to our neediest students or address the long-term fiscal crisis that threatens to gut public education in the city.” The union wants to reduce standardized testing, give teachers more autonomy on issues like grades and smaller class sizes, and provide for more school nurses and librarians. The union also wants the school district to support students by providing more translation services and bilingual programs, restorative justice programs and school counselors.

Teachers are also frustrated that the school district’s economic woes are affecting their benefits. After Chicago Public Schools said it would slash its contributions to the teacher pension fund, Lewis called the decision, along with cuts in the school budget, “an act of war.” The union said teachers have sacrificed enough, citing the fact that they had their 4 percent raises rescinded in 2011.

Chicago Public Schools officials said they would not seek to discipline employees who took part in the one-day strike, but said the district would launch a legal challenge to what they call an unlawful walkout. The union’s receipt of a fact-finders’ report on April 16 began the 30-day countdown until the union can launch a contract strike.

Think Progress, April 4
Chicago Tribune, April 1, 3