CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Chicago Teacher’s Union has moved a step closer to a strike over its assertion that a return to classrooms is unsafe.
It was an overwhelming vote. More than 80 percent of the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates voted Wednesday to pass a resolution authorizing all CTU members at CPS district schools to work remotely starting Monday, Jan. 25.
The resolution will now go to full rank-and-file membership for an electronic ballot vote on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
If those required to be back in classrooms Monday don't show up, they could be electronically locked out - meaning no remote access. This is a contentious issue with the union.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said the members are "resolved to continue working, teaching their students and doing so safely,"
"This is about a pandemic that has killed 400,000 Americans, and an overwhelming majority of our delegates are resolved to putting safety first and continuing to teach remotely," CTU President Jesse Sharkey said. "In the absence of an actual commitment on safety from CPS leadership, the best assurance we have for the safety of our students and school staff right now is to continue remote learning."
He said only the Mayor can force a strike, "and if it comes to that, that's her choice. We choose safety."
According to CTU, COVID-19 has now surfaced in over 50 schools since CPS demanded pre-kindergarten and special education cluster teachers back into school buildings on Jan. 4.
An additional 10,000 educators are expected back into buildings on Jan. 25 — the same day those workers become eligible to begin receiving a COVID vaccine, as part of Phase 1B.
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The CTU said public opposition to Mayor Lightfoot's reopening plan continues to grow, as 42 out of the city's 50 aldermen have signed a letter urging the mayor to hold off reopening schools until CPS and the CTU have bargained to agreement on a safe plan to return to school buildings.
The Union will continue to bargain with the Board this week.
In its own statement, the Chicago Public Schools said it had been bargaining with the CTU in good faith, and said the union is trying to close schools that are already open and safe:
“In each of the more than 60 sessions that we have had with CTU leadership concerning safely re-opening our schools, the district has come to the table in good faith, and we remain committed to reaching a mutually-acceptable agreement. We have agreed to the CTU’s safety demands every step of this process and we are ready to come to a resolution that provides our families the smooth transition to in-person learning they deserve.
“CTU leadership wants to close schools that are already safely open to students, and cancel in-person learning for the tens of thousands of students who are relying on their dedicated educators to provide in-person learning in the coming weeks. Stripping tens of thousands of students of the opportunity for safe, in-person learning is not an option or a viable solution for families who have been planning to return since December.”