CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Teachers at two Chicago charter schools on the South Side are out of their classrooms Tuesday and walking picket lines.
More than 600 students at the two schools are affected by the strike that the union said will last as long as it takes to get proper staffing of special education and bilingual classes as well as protections for students and teachers who are immigrants.
Math teacher Gabriela Solis agreed that Instituto's Justice Leadership and Health Sciences Academies is consistently understaffed.
"We need people who are qualified," she said.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates lays blame for the strike at the feet of the charter school management, saying they sent a real estate attorney to negotiate the labor contract.
"This is their strike of choice," she said. "Anytime you send a real estate attorney to a labor table-what you are choosing to do is frustrate the table and not come to any conclusion."
The union said they have been bargaining for over a year and they left the table at midnight due to a lack of progress.
"We tried every pathway-every avenue to not be here this morning and here we are," Gates added.
The union said that substitutes are constantly filling in for teachers. Martha Rivas said her son has had a substitute teacher for one of his classes for a month.
Drivers along Western avenue showed support for the strike by honking as teachers held picket signs in English and Spanish in front of the Health Sciences Academy.
WBBM has reached out to charter leadership for comment.
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