Chicago teachers to stage first strike in 25 years

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago teachers will stage their first strike in 25 years on Monday after they failed to reach agreement with the nation's third largest school district over sweeping education reforms sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"We have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike," Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis announced at a press conference on Sunday. "In the morning, no CTU members will be inside our schools."

Earlier, Chicago School Board President David Vitale said the city had made its "best offer" to the union.

"We've done everything we can," Vitale said.

The strike raises the stakes in an historic confrontation between Emanuel, President Barack Obama's former top White House aide, and organized labor in the president's home city.

About 29,000 teachers and support staff will not report for work, affecting 350,000 students. The strike means parents will have to scramble to make arrangements for children either by sending them to alternative facilities like churches or keeping them home.

Community leaders had begged both sides to come to an agreement and keep children in school.

"We can't afford to have young people in harm's way," said Cy Fields, senior pastor of New Landmark Missionary Baptist Church, which is located in a violence-torn community.

A protracted stoppage could hurt relations between Obama's Democrats and national labor unions, which are among the biggest financial supporters of the Democratic Party and will be needed by the party to get out the vote in the November 6 election.

While Emanuel has not attended the talks, he and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis have clashed. She has accused him of being a bully and a liar.

At issue are teacher pay and school reforms, including tougher teacher evaluations, which are at the heart of the national debate over improving struggling urban schools.

'A LOT AT STAKE'

Both sides in Chicago agree the city's public schools need fixing. Chicago fourth-grade and eighth-grade students lag national averages in a key test of reading ability, according to the U.S. Department of Education. One union complaint is that class sizes are too big.

Emanuel, who has a reputation as a tough negotiator, is demanding that teacher evaluations be tied to standardized test results, a move the union is resisting. He has also pushed through a longer school day this year.

Only about 60 percent of high school students in Chicago graduate, compared with a national average of 75 percent and more than 90 percent in some affluent Chicago suburbs.

More than 80 percent of the 402,000 students in Chicago public schools qualify for free lunches because they are from low-income families.

The Chicago Public Schools say they have little room to maneuver on salary, with both the state and the city in dire financial straits. The district has a projected $3 billion deficit over the next three years and faces a crushing burden of pensions promised to retiring teachers.

(Reporting by James B. and Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Greg McCune and Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-teachers-still-negotiating-hours-strike-deadline-003920042.html

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