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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot stated Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, that the city was looking at the teachers’ union’s proposal for a safe return to classrooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This came shortly after the mayor’s strong request for a deal by the end of the day.
Lightfoot has accused the teachers union of dragging their feet on the matter by refusing to give a straight answer to its demands. The Chicago mayor at a news conference said:
We need to get a deal done and get it done today. I expect to hear from them, no more delay
Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson stated that a counter-proposal by the CTU was delivered, and now a response must be given to this new proposal. With a strong threat by the mayor directed to the CTU to have a deal done by the end of the day or actions would occur, she was very vague about what those actions would be.
With student not having classes on Friday, the union and the city has the weekend to continue negotiations. But the mayor was clear that she was not interested in dragging this out through Sunday night.
The mayor promises to lock out teachers that do not report for duty from the teaching online systems. District officials called for a cooling-off period, which expired Thursday.
Thursday, CTU officials implicated the city of being late to the bargaining table leading to last-minute discussions. The goal is to agree upon a safe reopening plan for schools unilaterally.
CTU issues are to have across the board vaccinations for teachers.
Written by Omari Jahi
Sources:
ABC News: Chicago mayor demands teachers return, the union offers a proposal, DON BABWIN, and SOPHIA TAREEN
CBS News: Chicago mayor orders teachers to be in the classroom this week, Peter Martinez
Today News Post: Chicago mayor orders teachers to be in the classroom starting Monday,
WLNS: Our schools are safe”: Chicago mayor orders teachers to be in the classroom starting Monday, Kiyerra Lake
Featured Image by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Charles Edward Miller Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
