Posted on 01/08/2022 8:57:10 PM PST by SeekAndFind
A group of Chicago parents this week sued the city’s teachers union over its refusal to teach classes in person.
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted on Tuesday night to only teach classes remotely, arguing the rise in COVID-19 cases and an alleged lack of protective measures made it too dangerous to instruct students inside classrooms.
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) deemed the action an illegal work stoppage and canceled classes for three consecutive days as officials negotiated with union leaders. CTU and city officials also filed competing labor complaints.
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County circuit court, offers a similar view of the union’s refusal.
The union “never sent a notice of intent to strike to CPS, the regional superintendent, or the Educational Labor Relations Board,” the suit states.
“And less than 24 hours elapsed from the time CTU members voted on its measure to authorize a strike on January 4, 2022, and when they did not show up for work in-person the next day, in contrast to the requirement under Illinois law that 10 days elapse from the vote to authorize a strike to the time a strike begins.”
The law in question, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, outlines requirements for when teachers go on strike.
The union, which did not immediately return an inquiry, has said the attempt to shift to remote learning is not a strike. Tennille Evans, a teacher and union organizer, told reporters in a briefing that it’s “a work action, not a strike,” but the parents say that no part of state law, no contract, and no local ordinance authorizes the union to decide to teach virtually without approval from the Chicago Board of Education.
The parents say they’ve been harmed by the situation “because their children are being denied schooling and they have had to secure child care for their children.”
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union and supporters stage a car caravan protest outside City Hall in the Loop in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 5, 2022. (Ashlee Rezin /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
They’re asking the court to make clear that CTU’s actions amount to a strike and that the vote violated the collective bargaining agreement between the union and the city. The court should prevent CTU from continuing to authorize its members to not teach in person unless all conditions set forth in state law are met, and the agreement isn’t violated.
The parents also want the court to award them damages in the form of lost income and cost of securing child care while classes were canceled.
“Throughout this entire pandemic, our kids have paid a tremendous price for adults’ mistakes and miscalculations, and now the teachers’ union has hastily and recklessly put them on their political roller coaster again,” Laurel Golden, lead plaintiff in the lawsuit and a Chicago parent, said in a statement.
“The science is clear, and so is the desire of parents: Our kids need and deserve to be in school. This illegal strike must be ended immediately, and we must get kids back into the classroom.”
The union, meanwhile, in press releases and the briefing on Friday indicated there’s no plans at this time to end the refusal to teach in person.
“The COVID cases are spiraling out of control in every neighborhood, and that is why we ask for [remote classes],” Evans said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said in a joint statement around the same time that negotiations “continued today and went into the evening,” adding, “The sessions remain productive but must be concluded this weekend.”
They got their way.
That wasn't good enough.
Then, they demanded that all students be masked muzzled.
They got their way
And now THAT isn't even good enough!
These teachers are making out like bandits. I read Chicago got $3.2 billion for COVID relief for education and they probably pissed the money away like they always do.
This union needs to be de-certified and a new rule passed - like right to work! Get new teachers. Give existing teachers the phone number of their union steward!
Safe means no masks, no Jim Jones Jab mandates, no snot testing, and no social distancing.
I don’t understand why any parent, given that their local schoolboard was forcing remote learning, would choose their local school district to provide it.
If I were living there....this would be the last straw. I’d go find other employment beyond Chicago (maybe beyond the state itself), and move the family. Even if the teacher’s union bends on this...it just goes to the next drama, and the drama after that.
Covid has caused the teacher’s unions to drop the pretense that they give a damn about the health and welfare of the children. It’s all about themselves and their ideology. In the Covid war, they use the kids as human shields.
Fire them for refusal to educate in-person no reason the shouldn’t be do so.
Reagan fired the air traffic controllers for refusing to work.
They are doing more harm to the child by not having in-person classes grades are falling like a rock.
At the very least the schools need to return money they received for the teachers.
Fire every single one of them that refuses to accept science in their lives and only have ‘woke’ teaching skills. You’ll be doing everyone a favor.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.