CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Chicago Teachers Union formally requested Chicago Public Schools enter mediation as the dispute continues over the district's plan to return to in-person learning.
This comes after a labor board on Thursday denied a request by the CTU for an injunction that would delay the reopening of the Chicago Public Schools.
CPS CEO Dr. Janice Jackson issued a reopening letter and said Pre-Kindergarten and students in special education programs could return to in-person learning five days a week later this quarter.
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But the Chicago Teachers Union sent out a survey to parents at the end of October, and found parents "overwhelmingly rejected" returning to in-person learning until the spread of the COVID-19 virus is under control. Parents instead want Chicago Public Schools to focus on improving remote learning while the district also lands safety protocols for testing, contract tracing, ventilation and other needs.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey said "72% of parents in that poll said that community spread of the virus has to be under control before we should return to in-person schooling."
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Through mediation, the union hopes to address concerns like building ventilation, community transmission rates, and the transparency of the district’s safety measures.
"Unfortunately, up to this point, we have not felt that CPS has engaged with us in bargaining in a meaningful and serious way," Sharkey added.
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Chicago Public Schools has yet to respond to the mediation request, but Dr. Jackson previously said if and when students return to school there will be health screeners, temperature checks, social distancing, and a mask requirement at all times.
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According to CTU, one in five district-run schools have reported positive COVID-19 cases since the school year began, including over a dozen schools reported to the union learned last week, despite an arbitrator's Oct. 2 ruling that CPS buildings are unsafe. One teacher died last month, and hundreds of other workers have contracted or been exposed to COVID-19 in more than 100 buildings since CPS forced school clerks, technology coordinators and other workers back into buildings beginning in late August.