A sign for the Chicago Teachers Union sits next to an attendee at a solidarity rally for the Chicago Teacher’s Union and SEIU Local 73 on Day 11 of the strike at New Mt. Pilgrim MB Church in Chicago, Ill. on Sunday, October 27. 2019. | Colin Boyle for the Sun-Times Colin Boyle for the Sun-Times
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Early this morning Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey spoke to reporters outside Locke Elementary School on the Northwest Side. Sharkey said it appears Mayor Lori Lightfoot is preparing for a “long fight.”
“The good news is in terms of the really difficult sticking points, it’s not a very long list,” Sharkey said. “The bad news is, looking at what’s happening, I feel like the city, the mayor and the schools chiefs are digging in.”
With the cancellation of the 8th day of classes the current strike now surpasses the 2012 strike becoming Chicago’s longest schools walkout since 1987.
Despite the impasse SEIU Local 73 reached a tentative agreement Sunday night.
President of SEIU Local 73 Dian Palmeron made a
This is a victory for working people in Chicago and shows what is possible when we unite and take action. The
lowest paid support workers who are the backbone of our schools are going to see raises that mean their families won’t have to struggleliving in an expensive city where costs keep going up. We will be on picket lines in solidarity with CTU tomorrow.
Over the weekend Chance the
“I fully support you,” said the Jones College Prep grad, wearing a Chicago Teachers Union sweatshirt. “I just wish that when I was in school, my teachers had gone on a strike.”
A tweet from CTU spokesman Eric Ruder showed union bargaining team members watching the show during a late-night work session.
Thursday the St. Paul Federation of Educators sent a letter, signed by SPFE President Nick Faber, to striking workers.
Your fight for Chicago students – capping class size, a nurse in every school, and adequate mental health and special education supports – is our fight for Saint Paul students,” the letter said. “Your commitment to
use your collective power to speak out for the common good in Chicago – creating safe and healthy communities, seeking a moratorium on charter schools, and expanding affordable housing – is our commitmentin Saint Paul.