Chicago Teachers Union Vote Ends In-Person Learning 'Strike'

CHICAGO — A majority of public school teachers voted to officially accept a safety deal that ended a weeklong boycott of in-person learning.

The measure was approved Wednesday by a slim margin — 55 percent of Chicago Teachers members who voted backed ending the work action, which was described as a "strike" in a confidential union memo leaked on social media. Only 70 percent of CTU members cast ballots.

Union leaders said the split vote

“This vote is a clear show of dissatisfaction with the boss. It’s outrageous that teachers, school nurses, counselors and more had to endure a week of being locked out by the mayor just to get a commitment from her bargaining team to provide every student with an N95 mask in a pandemic," CTU boss Jesse Sharkey said in a statement.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and public schools chief Pedro Martinez hailed the vote as a guarantee of "predictability and stability for the reset of the school year."

"We all agree we must prioritize the health and well-being of everyone in our school communities including our kids, families, and staff. The science tells us that the safest place for our students is to be in the classroom, which is why, in addition to the over $100 million already spent on COVID mitigation, CPS is providing KN95 masks, augmenting its every school-every week testing program, and strengthening its contact tracing approach," they said in a joint statement.

"CPS principals will continue to work with their school-based safety teams to make data-informed decisions in the best interests of students and families. We encourage families to get their children vaccinated and to consent to regular testing. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the entire school community."

This article originally appeared on the Chicago Patch