Classes were canceled for about 300,000 students in Chicago for an eighth day on Monday as the teachers’ union and public school district failed over the weekend to resolve a deadlock in contract talks over class sizes, support staff levels and pay.
Each side blamed the other for the impasse in the third-largest U.S. school district, where the strike began on Oct. 17, and the union, which represents the city’s 25,000 teachers, has been without a contract since July 1.
The union wants smaller class sizes, more support staff, a contract that runs three years instead of five, and more paid prep-time for elementary school teachers.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Janice Jackson blasted the Chicago Teachers Union in a joint news conference on Sunday for not accepting the school system’s offer.
The weekend saw some progress, however, as the union representing some school support staff made a tentative deal to end the strike, Lightfoot announced, covering custodians, security officers and bus aides.
Joseph Ocol is a Middle School Math Teacher and After-School Chess Coach with CPS. He updated Dan & Amy on his experience crossing the picket line: