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School's out in Chicago as teachers strike
Source: Agencies |
September 11, 2012, Tuesday
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THOUSANDS of public school teachers formed picket lines in Chicago yesterday and parents scrambled for child care during their first strike in a quarter century over reforms sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and endorsed by President Barack Obama's administration.
Some 29,000 teachers and support staff in the United States' third-largest school system were involved, leaving parents of 350,000 students between kindergarten and high school age to find alternative supervision.
"There's no excuse for either side for not coming to an agreement," said Faith Griggs-York, mother of a first-grader at Agassiz Elementary School, as she dropped her daughter off at a community center.
"I think both sides, because of what they are doing to parents and what they are doing to kids, should be embarrassed," Griggs-York said.
Churches, community centers, some schools and other public facilities were ready to care for thousands of children under a US$25 million strike contingency plan financed by the school district. The kids will be supervised half a day and receive breakfast and lunch, allowing some parents to work.
"What are these families going to do? Are you going to stay home from work today because of this?" US Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said on CNN.
"What is going to happen to your son or daughter?
"Both sides need to get back to the table as quickly as possible and really stay there and negotiate through the night if necessary. Get it over with quickly so we can get these kids back in school," Durbin said.
Talks resumed yesterday morning in the months-long contract negotiations. Emanuel is among many big city mayors who have championed such school reforms and Obama's education secretary, Arne Duncan has endorsed them.
The union has called the plan to care for children during the strike a "train wreck." It warned that caregivers for the children do not have proper training.
About 20 teachers picketed in front of Overton Elementary School on Chicago's South Side, wearing red T-shirts, carrying strike signs and singing "We're not going to take it," the chorus from the rock band Twisted Sister's popular anthem.
Emanuel, the tough talking former White House chief of staff for Obama, blamed the union for the strike and said the two sides had been close to agreement. Union officials have accused Emanuel of disregard and disrespect, which the mayor has denied.
"The kids of Chicago belong in the classroom," Emanuel said at a Sunday night news conference after talks broke down.
Chicago offered teachers raises of 3 percent this year and another 2 percent annually for the next three years, amounting to an average raise of 16 percent over the duration of the proposed contract, School Board President David Vitale said.
Some 29,000 teachers and support staff in the United States' third-largest school system were involved, leaving parents of 350,000 students between kindergarten and high school age to find alternative supervision.
"There's no excuse for either side for not coming to an agreement," said Faith Griggs-York, mother of a first-grader at Agassiz Elementary School, as she dropped her daughter off at a community center.
"I think both sides, because of what they are doing to parents and what they are doing to kids, should be embarrassed," Griggs-York said.
Churches, community centers, some schools and other public facilities were ready to care for thousands of children under a US$25 million strike contingency plan financed by the school district. The kids will be supervised half a day and receive breakfast and lunch, allowing some parents to work.
"What are these families going to do? Are you going to stay home from work today because of this?" US Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said on CNN.
"What is going to happen to your son or daughter?
"Both sides need to get back to the table as quickly as possible and really stay there and negotiate through the night if necessary. Get it over with quickly so we can get these kids back in school," Durbin said.
Talks resumed yesterday morning in the months-long contract negotiations. Emanuel is among many big city mayors who have championed such school reforms and Obama's education secretary, Arne Duncan has endorsed them.
The union has called the plan to care for children during the strike a "train wreck." It warned that caregivers for the children do not have proper training.
About 20 teachers picketed in front of Overton Elementary School on Chicago's South Side, wearing red T-shirts, carrying strike signs and singing "We're not going to take it," the chorus from the rock band Twisted Sister's popular anthem.
Emanuel, the tough talking former White House chief of staff for Obama, blamed the union for the strike and said the two sides had been close to agreement. Union officials have accused Emanuel of disregard and disrespect, which the mayor has denied.
"The kids of Chicago belong in the classroom," Emanuel said at a Sunday night news conference after talks broke down.
Chicago offered teachers raises of 3 percent this year and another 2 percent annually for the next three years, amounting to an average raise of 16 percent over the duration of the proposed contract, School Board President David Vitale said.
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