Chicago Teachers Strike Averted as Union, CPS Reach Tentative Agreement

CHICAGO, IL — After an exhausting day of negotiating that went right up to a midnight deadline, the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Board of Education reached a tentative agreement on a new contract late Monday night, averting a strike that was set to start Tuesday, officials announced.

"What I would tell you is that it wasn't easy, as you all know," CTU President Karen Lewis said about the work that went into hammering out an 11th-hour deal. "Clearly, we had some issues, and there are some things we'll be working on."

"It's not a perfect agreement, as anyone will tell you, but it's good," she added.

During a joint press conference with officials from Chicago Public Schools just after midnight Tuesday, Lewis outlined some of the highlights of the deal:

• The union received commitments from the school board for bigger class sizes, a layoff recall provision, pension pickup and "a host of other things."
• When it comes to pensions, CPS will keep the 7 percent pay-in for current teachers, but it will be dropped for new hires. Those new employees will eventually receive a salary adjustment, however.
• If the deal is approved, the new contract would be for four years, retroactive to 2015. The previous teachers contract expired in June of 2015, and CTU members have been working without an agreement since then.

One major sticking point of the negotiations was the unions demand that the city free up surplus money from tax-increment financing funds to avoid cutting from the city's education budget. Although the tentative agreement doesn't address this, Lewis said she had "heard rumors" that such a move might still be on the table.

The union posted a copy of the signed tentative agreement to its website earlier Tuesday morning.

"We're going to see how this works and how we need to tweak things," Lewis said concerning details about the deal that still need refined.

The contract now must be approved by CTU's House of Delegates, and then it will be voted on by the union's entire membership before it becomes official, Lewis said. Officials were not sure what the timeline for that would be.

When asked how she felt about finally reaching a tentative agreement with the city, Lewis replied: "It's been 22 months of uncertainty that I think is a relief for the entrie city."

That relief was evident in the teachers who stayed up for news about whether they would be in the classroom or on the picket line Tuesday morning. Some of them posted reactions on social media:

If a tentative agreement had not been reached by the midnight deadline, teachers would've walked out for the second time while Mayor Rahm Emmanuel has been in office. Teachers went on strike for seven days in 2012, and that action led to the contract that expired in 2015.

UPDATED (12:47 A.M. Tuesday, Oct. 11)

CHICAGO, IL — Negotiators for the teachers union are looking over a proposed contract from the Chicago Board of Education and will continue up until the midnight strike deadline to try to hammer out a tentative deal to avoid a strike, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said during an update at 10 p.m. Monday.

Although both sides are still at the bargaining table, Lewis said the new offer was an improvement on the one rejected by the union in January. But she would not characterize the specifics of the the new proposal or say how close both sides were.

"I wish I could tell parents to go to bed early, … but I would say this: Prepare for the worst and pray for the best," she said.

During a brief press conference after the union's update, Chicago Public Schools chief education officer Janice Jackson said progress had been made, and both sides looked close to coming to terms on a tentative agreement.

"We'll continue to work up until the deadline because we want our children in school," she said.

UPDATED (10:14 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10)

ORIGINAL STORY

CHICAGO, IL — Representatives for the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Board of Education are meeting Monday in hopes of working out an tentative agreement and stop around 20,000 city educators from walking out Tuesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Both sides returned to the bargaining table at about noon Monday, Oct. 10, and an anonymous Chicago Public Schools source told the Tribune that the union and the city were "not too far apart" on financial terms, which means a deal could be made by the midnight strike deadline.

If not agreement on a new contract is reached Monday night, teachers are expected to form picket lines outside schools at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, the report stated. Union members already were picking up strike materials Monday afternoon, the report added.

RELATED: Chicago Teachers to Go on Strike Oct. 11

Chicago schools will not turn away students in the event of a teacher walkout, but officials are encouraging parents to keep children at home if there is a strike. CPS has worked with city departments and agencies to create a contingency plan for students that is similar to one enacted during the 2012 strike.

If schools are shut down, the YMCA of Chicago will offer daylong programs for kids. The Chicago Transit Authority also will give free transportation to CPS students from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. throughout the duration of any walkout.

RELATED: Chicago Schools Won't Turn Away Students During Strike

Chicago teachers have been working without a contract since June of 2015. The union rejected a proposed deal offered by the city in January. Teachers also have been upset over school-based cuts that have hit special education students hard and eliminated teaching positions. Earlier this month, CPS laid off about 250 teachers because of an enrollment decrease of around 14,000 students this fall.

On Monday afternoon, about two dozen parents and students stood outside Mayor Rahm Emmanuel's Ravenswood home in support of teachers, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Protesters asked the mayor to free up surplus money from tax-increment financing funds to avoid cutting from the city's education budget.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Chicago teachers hold a one-day walkout in April of 2016. (photo via Patch archive)

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