Chicago’s academics, faculty assist employees and park district employees have set a joint Oct. 17 strike deadline, giving town and 35,000 public workers lower than 15 days to hammer out offers and keep away from leaving almost 300,000 college students out of faculty with town’s parks shut down.
Though an precise work stoppage may nonetheless be averted if City Hall and the unions come to an settlement within the coming days, the strike date possible ensures the tense negotiations will come to a head this month.
Leaders from the Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union Local 73 — the union that represents some faculty assist employees and the vast majority of Chicago Park District employees — introduced the unified deadline Wednesday night as chanting employees in purple and purple shirts crammed the CTU’s Near West Side headquarters.
“The mayor has a difficult choice right now,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey informed reporters after elected CTU delegates from colleges across the metropolis voted on the date. “The mayor can either do what’s right at the table, or can face a unified strike of both CTU and SEIU together.”
In and of itself, 35,000 public workers becoming a member of picket traces on the similar time is a frightening prospect for metropolis officers. But when joined with the truth that the varsity district has previously opened Chicago Park District buildings to college students throughout academics strikes, the unified motion may put added strain on town to get the offers finished.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson mentioned in a press release Wednesday night that town is “fully prepared” for a strike, and that faculty buildings can be saved open “to ensure students have a safe and welcoming place to spend the day and warm meals to eat.”
“We will continue bargaining at an aggressive pace to reach a deal that is fair to our teachers and staff, supports the record-setting progress we’ve made, and promotes the best interests of Chicago families, so that we do not have to open our school buildings without the educators and staff members who are so crucial to our district’s success,” the mayor and colleges chief mentioned.
The earliest the CTU’s 25,000 public faculty academics and assist employees — together with clerks, instructor assistants and nurses — may have determined to stroll out was this coming Monday. A strike deadline that early would have given the 2 sides solely 5 extra days to work out an settlement.
But the mid-October date permits CTU members to stroll out with SEIU’s 7,500 faculty assist employees employees — which embrace particular training classroom assistants, bus aides, safety guards and custodians — and a pair of,500 Chicago Park District workers.
Sharkey mentioned setting the strike date 10 days later than they may have is proof CTU and SEIU choose to work towards offers at their respective bargaining tables, and {that a} strike can be their “last resort.”
“CTU stands side-by-side with SEIU,” Sharkey mentioned. “The schools don’t work without all of us.”
Sharkey mentioned town made its first “serious” supply on the finish of final week after academics voted 94% in favor of a strike. Still, he mentioned the varsity district’s proposal fell brief in a lot of key areas, together with instructor preparation time, class sizes and methods to tackle staffing shortages.
And although the union is prepared to fulfill extra typically in an effort to get a deal finished — they’re now assembly 4 instances per week — the CTU wouldn’t look kindly on being pressured into accepting a last-minute proposal.
SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer mentioned the assist employees and park district employees are “united with CTU, and we are united with workers who are standing up for themselves.”
“One of the first questions that was asked of us is do we do we feel guilty that we will not be there for our children,” Palmer mentioned. “But I’ve a query for the mayor, and I’ve a query for the those who run the parks and the colleges: Do they really feel…