Lightfoot hesitant to confront radical union?

CTU strike, Day 6: Street closures Wednesday morning as teachers plan major march, protest at City Hall

CPS says more than 7,200 of 300,000 students attended school buildings Tuesday.

By Sun-Times staff Updated Oct 22, 2019, 10:09pm CDT

Sun-Times



The sixth day of the Chicago Teachers Union strike may have started on rocky footing, but by the end, negotiations between CTU and Chicago Public Schools may have stabilized.

Though teachers did not hold a formal rally today, there was plenty going on across the city. Not one but two presidential candidates offered support to CTU, and union President Jesse Sharkey called on his Twitter followers to wear red Thursday in support of the teachers strike.

Here’s what went down today — and where things headed Wednesday.
9:53 P.M. City warns of street closures downtown because of teacher protest

Wednesday’s commute could be tricky as the teachers plan to march and then rally at City Hall, where Mayor Lori Lightfoot is giving her first budget address.

City officials urged people take mass transit and said streets could be closed on a rotating basis, including Randolph, Washington, Clark, LaSalle, Franklin and Wacker Drive.

The union canceled pickets outside schools Wednesday morning, and instead told school staff to meet at the following locations and then march together, culminating in a rally outside City Hall:

• North Side schools: Swissotel, 323 E. Wacker

• South Side: D’Angelo Park, 438 S. Franklin

• Southwest Side: Wrigley Square/Millennium Park, Randolph and Michigan

• West and Northwest Side: Sears Tower, 311 S. Wacker
9:00 p.m. CTU, CPS negotiators ‘back on the right track’ ahead of major demonstration

First they were stalled. Then there was progress. Then hopes were “dashed.” And now they’re back on the right track.

The whirlwind that’s followed negotiations between the city and the teachers union since a strike began last week didn’t end on Tuesday, but it might have stabilized a bit.

The two sides went back to the table Tuesday morning after setbacks and heightened rhetoric the day before, and they spent much of the day discussing the union’s proposal on better funding sports programs.

”We had an incredibly powerful meeting with 25 sports coaches from around the city, elementary and high school coaches,” said Chicago Teachers Union chief of staff Jennifer Johnson.

— Nader Issa breaks down the latest in negotiations between CTU and CPS. Check it out here.
7:35 p.m. CPS attendance dips, then climbs as strike moves into 7th day

Chicago Public Schools officials released attendance numbers at CPS during the strike, and Tuesday saw the second highest number of students using school buildings since the walkout began.

More than 7,200 students reported to 513 school buildings on Tuesday, the fourth day of the strike, according to CPS officials. That’s down from 7,500 on Thursday, the first day of the walkout. Attendance was lowest on Monday, when nearly 6,290 kids spent time at school.Nader Issa/CPS

More than 300,000 students are enrolled in CPS, according to the district’s latest report.

Though classes have been canceled, CPS kept school buildings open to students as part of its contingency plan. The buildings have been open every weekday of the strike during their normal bell schedule with principals and non-unionized support staff on hand.

— Alison Martin
6:15 p.m. Joe Biden offers support to CTU president

Warren wasn’t the only Democratic presidential candidate to make a mark with teachers Tuesday.

Former Vice President Joe Biden called Sharkey Tuesday morning, Davis Gates said.

“Biden called Jesse this morning to high-five him and tell him that, you know, keep his back stiff and keep moving,” she said.

Nader Issa and Mitch Dudek have more on Biden’s call to Sharkey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s rally Tuesday morning. Check it out here.
4:30 p.m. CPS cancels Wednesday classes

Chicago Public Schools has canceled Wednesday classes.

The school district said the CTU’s House of Delegates had not scheduled a vote as of 4 p.m. Tuesday. After-school activities will also be canceled.



ChicagoPublicSchools
✔@ChiPubSchools



As of 4 p.m., CTU has not scheduled a House of Delegates vote, which would be necessary to end their strike. As a result, it will not be possible to hold classes tomorrow, Wednesday, 10/23. After school activities will not be available. http://cps.edu/contingencyplan


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— Alison Martin
2:40 p.m. Teachers union makes plans in case strike goes through Thursday — and possibly next week

The day after Chicago Teachers Union leaders said their hopes were “dashed” for a quick end to their strike, union officials are making plans for an extended work stoppage that could possibly go into next week.

Aiming to up the pressure on Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the union is planning a Wednesday morning rally around City Hall during the mayor’s first budget address.

For Thursday, the CTU is calling for a national day of action, asking teachers around the country to show support for Chicago’s striking teachers.



ChicagoTeachersUnion@CTULocal1



On Thursday, October 24, educators and supporters of public education across the country should wear to show their support for the #CTUSEIUstrike in Chicago. Please take solidarity photos of yourself and your co-workers and post to social media with #PutItInWriting. Solidarity!


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Nader Issa has the full story here.
1:24 p.m. Negotiations underway, but no update from either side

Representatives from CPS and CTU were negotiating in a first floor conference room at Malcolm X College Tuesday afternoon.


People have been meandering in and out in the last few minutes on a lunch break.

The blinds in the conference room were partially drawn, but an array of folders and other paperwork could be seen on the negotiating table along with plenty of coffee cups. No one from either side has provided an update to reporters who are milling about.

— Mitch Dudek
12:43 p.m. Negotiations resume without CTU’s full bargaining team

Negotiators headed back to the table this morning at Malcolm X College on the Near West Side, but they’re resuming talks without the CTU’s full bargaining team.

Union president Jesse Sharkey said Monday only the union’s officers would show up to the table. He told members in a Monday night email that the rest of the bargaining team would go back to picket lines because he didn’t want to “waste their time” at the table if no progress was being made.

— Nader Issa
12:27 p.m. What are they fighting over?

What are the contract proposals that bargaining team members with the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union are trying to come to agreement on?

As the multi-day strike continues into its second week, reporters Lauren FitzPatrick and Nader Issa have the latest in the talks taking place behind closed doors at Malcolm X College.

Click here to see the provisions where the two sides have reached agreement — and where they’re still going back and forth.

— Sun-Times staff
11:14 a.m. Elizabeth Warren joins teachers on picket line

Picketing teachers and school support staff welcomed a special guest Tuesday morning at DePriest Elementary School on the West Side.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a top Democratic presidential hopeful, joined the striking workers for a rally alongside CTU president Jesse Sharkey, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten and a few elected officials.
Elizabeth Warren hug supporters as she joins striking Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Local 73 members for a speech on the picket line outside Oscar DePriest Elementary School. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
Elizabeth Warren takes selfies with supporters on the picket line. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

“I’m here to stand with Chicago teachers. I’m here to stand with Chicago nurses. I’m here to stand with Chicago’s librarians,” Warren told the crowd of a couple hundred gathered in a soggy field outside the school.

“I’m here to stand with every one of the people who stand for our children every day,” the senator said. “Everyone in America should support you in this strike.”


Warren didn’t answer a question about whether she had spoken to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, which would be customary for a Democratic presidential candidate in a major and majority Democratic U.S. city.

“What I want to do is I want to give cities like Chicago a good federal partner,” Warren responded. “What we need to do is we need to ask those at the very top to pitch in a little more so that we can actually make the investments in every single child in this country. That’s how we build a future.

“That’s what CTU is here for. That’s what SEIU is here for. And that’s why I wanted to be here with them.”Elizabeth Warren joins striking Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Local 73 members for a speech on the picket line outside Oscar DePriest Elementary School. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

— Nader Issa
10:04 a.m. Lightfoot downplays meeting between Elizabeth Warren and striking teachers

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday downplayed the meeting between Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and striking teachers.

“People are going to come in to catch a moment and then they’re going to leave,” Lightfoot said at a news conference at a Near North Side children’s play center where kids have been riding out the strike.

“She has her right to come in. I would expect all Democratic candidates for the presidency to support workers, that’s who we are as a party. But at the end of the day what’s going to get it done is what happens at the bargaining table,” she said.


Lightfoot also downplayed CTU President Jesse Sharkey’s sharp rhetoric, which included accusations that Lightfoot “dashed” hope of reaching a deal Monday following a letter from her to union leaders urging them to return to work while details of a final contract are hammered out.

“I think he overstates things dramatically, and I get that,” Lightfoot said.


She was also critical of CTU’s decision to not bring their full bargaining team to the table Tuesday.

“It’s unfortunate that the larger bargaining team has decided that they’re going to take the day off,” said Lightfoot. “There should be a sense of urgency all the way around.”

While pointing to her participation in high school sports, Lightfoot sympathized with athletes whose seasons are being interrupted by the strike.

“What we’re seeing is real human costs for this work stoppage,” she said.

Lightfoot, as she has in the past, pointed toward money issues that undergird negotiating troubles.

“There is a finite pot of money. We don’t have unlimited cash to keep funding the things that are aspirational and maybe things that, on values, that we share. We have to live within our means, that’s what the taxpayers expect of us and that’s what we’re going to do.”

— Mitch Dudek
8:57 a.m. From our readers: your strike stories

We asked Chicago Sun-Times readers to write in and let us know how the teachers strike is affecting their families. Here’s what they had to say:




— Diana Coral Rivera




— Dale Adney




— Maria Munoz












— Anonymous






— Miriam Clapp, Jones College Prep Senior






— Richard Crane

We want to hear from you. Email us at ctustrike@suntimes.com and leave us your phone number if you’d like to chat.
7:23 a.m. Elizabeth Warren to join the strike

Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is set to join the city’s striking teachers on the picket line this morning.

The senator will bring her campaign to Chicago in a visit to Oscar DePriest Elementary School at 139 S. Parkside Ave. in Austin on the West Side, her campaign said.

“I called Chicago teachers on strike to let them know I’m standing beside them,” Warren wrote on Twitter Monday. “They’re out fighting for the future of our students—and I’m with them all the way. #PutItInWriting #FairContractNow.”



Elizabeth Warren
✔@ewarren



I called Chicago teachers on strike to let them know I'm standing beside them. They're out fighting for the future of our students—and I'm with them all the way. #PutItInWriting #FairContractNow


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— Nader Issa
6:25 a.m. Teacher strike enters day 6

The Chicago teacher strike enters its fourth school day Tuesday, which also marks the sixth day of negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools.

Monday night, the Chicago Teachers Union said that negotiations took a turn for the worse, and said their hopes were “dashed” for a quick resolution to the strike.

“It’s stuck,” CTU vice president Stacy Davis Gates told reporters outside Malcolm X College on the Near West Side, where negotiations wrapped up more than an hour earlier expected.

President Jesse Sharkey said it wasn’t a good day at the table and he wasn’t sure there would be an end to the walkout any time soon.

— Nader Issa & Fran Spielman

Nader Issa and Fran Spielman followed Monday’s negotiations and where CTU and CPS stood at the end of the day. Read the full report here.

Our goal at the Sun-Times is to empower you during big news events like the teachers strike. Support our coverage further by signing up for a digital subscription here.