No School Thursday, October 17, for CPS
Sun-Times: Chicago Public Schools classes canceled Thursday in anticipation of teachers strike
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and schools chief Janice Jackson announced all Chicago Public Schools classes are canceled for Thursday in anticipation of the strike.
To be clear, a strike has not started. A strike was authorized on September 26, then, on October 2, the CTU House of Delegates (HOD) set a possible strike start date as October 17 which lined up with SEIU Local 73. Negotiations continued during this whole time and are even scheduled for today. But, last night, the CTU bargaining team announced that they would recommend a strike to the HOD which meets tonight.
WBEZ: CTU President “Overwhelmingly Certain” That Teachers Will Strike
This leads us to now and the fact that there is no school for CPS tomorrow, Thursday, October 17, in anticipation of a strike.
Parents, reach out to each other & help each other out. Do you have flexibility in your schedule? Can you watch another parent's child tomorrow (or in the coming days if it comes to that)?
Parents, speak to your school’s teachers & staff TODAY, find out their picket schedule, and consider joining them with your kids tomorrow.
We've created a web page, 2019 Possible CTU/SEIU Strike: Resources for Parents + FAQs, which we continue to update. Much more information is now available about the CPS/City Contingency Plan, there are various community centers which are offering child care (for fees), and there are strike camps (various costs, times, and ages). Please consult this and check back throughout the day as we'll be updating it as news continues. If we are missing something, please send an email jennie@ilraiseyourhand.org.
There are some press articles which are also being updated regularly on contract negotiations:
Chalkbeat Chicago is #TrackingTheContract in this article (beginning July 25.)
WBEZ: Chicago Teachers Strike 2019: Live Updates (beginning October 14)
Sun-Times: Chicago teacher contract talks: Will they strike? The latest on the CPS-CTU negotiations (beginning October 14)
Please remember to be good to each other out there. At the end of this contract negotiation, we are still all parts of school communities which are part of a larger community, the Chicago Public Schools. Our children need all of us working together.
Upcoming events
TODAY! 4pm. Students Strike Back and community organizations will be hosting a Youth SOS Press Conference for Bilingual Education, Wed, Oct 16, 4pm, Kelly Park, 2725 W 41st St. Facebook event page here.
Appreciate this email and all of our (possible) strike updates? Ready for some comradery and celebration? Come to our annual fundraiser, Raise a Glass for RYH! Tuesday, October 22, 5:30-8:30pm, Lagunitas Brewing.