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发帖数: 29846 | 1 By STEPHANIE BANCHERO, JACK NICAS and CAROLINE PORTER
CHICAGO—The teacher strike that has shut 350,000 students out of classes
will continue for at least another day, as a judge declined Monday to
immediately rule on a city lawsuit seeking to force teachers back into the
classroom.
The Chicago school district, under the control of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, had
asked a Cook County Circuit Court judge to prohibit the Chicago Teachers
Union from striking on grounds that it is illegal. The board argued in its
complaint that Illinois law bars the teachers union from striking over
noneconomic issues, such as layoffs, teacher evaluations and the length of
the school day. It also contended the strike is a "clear and present danger
to public health and safety" by keeping students out of school.
The judge said he needed more time to look over the filings before issuing a
ruling. He is expected to set a hearing date for the suit later this
afternoon.
The lawsuit came a day after the union's governing board, the House of
Delegates, declined to call an end to the strike that has now kept children
in the nation's third largest school district out of classes for six days.
It is the first teacher strike in the city in 25 years.
The battle catapulted Chicago into a national debate over teacher
evaluations, job security and the power of labor unions.
Union leaders had said the delegates will meet again Tuesday—Monday is Rosh
Hashanah—to discuss the district's latest contract offer so classes couldn
't resume until Wednesday, at the earliest. The city was hoping to force
them back into the classroom Tuesday.
"We believe our kids should be in the classroom learning from their teachers
and we are doing everything we can to get them back there as soon as
possible," said Sarah Hamilton, spokeswoman for Mr. Emanuel.
While compensation isn't the main sticking point now, pay raises were among
the issues being negotiated, union officials point out. The tentative, three
-year agreement calls for a 3% pay raise the first year and 2% the following
two years with an option to extend, by mutual agreement, to a fourth year
with a 3% raise.
Stephanie Gadlin, a spokeswoman for the union, said in a statement that the
city was trying to "trample free speech," the "right to protest" and
collective-bargaining rights by filing the lawsuit. She contended the work
stoppage was allowed by law and said the district's decision to file suit "
appears to be a vindictive act instigated by the mayor" and is consistent
with Mr. Emanuel's "bullying behavior toward public school education."
But as the strike dragged on into the sixth day, parents were becoming
frustrated with the inconvenience of trying to find child care and with the
academic losses their children are experiencing.
"Kids are supposed to be in school," said Mohamed Kallon, who was dropping
off his two children at a North Side school, one of 147 offering meals and
other services across the district Monday morning.
"This is really affecting them psychologically. Every day they come home and
say, 'No homework today, Daddy,' and they are just playing around all day,"
he said, adding: "I don't know how they are going to catch up. I mean, are
they going to recover the material?"
But the strike also seemed to be wearing on teachers. Last week, many of the
picket sites had a festive atmosphere, with teachers enthusiastically
marching in front of schools and chanting. On Monday, it seemed more solemn.
"Teachers are not as enthusiastic today," said Stephanie Davis-Williams, 50
years old, a first-grade teacher as she picketed in front of a school. "They
are tired. They've been beating the pavement, and with all the marches and
all the striking, we hope it pays off.
The district lawsuit notes that about 84% of the district's school children
are poor and receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch at school. It also
notes that students, many of whom live in dangerous areas, are at risk of
violence when they aren't in class.
The students "face the all too real prospect of prolonged hunger, increased
risk of violence, and disruption of critical special education services,"
according to the complaint. "A vulnerable population has been cast adrift by
the CTU's decision to close down the schools."
Union President Karen Lewis has contended that teachers are fighting for
students by pushing to district to cap the growing class sizes, air
condition schools that get so hot they stifle learning, and add more social
workers, counselors and school nurses to campuses. She also argues that Mr.
Emanuel extended the school day this year without any attention to making
the longer day more academically enriching for students. | w**d
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