Chicago teachers avert strike, will return to classrooms after union vote

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Teachers at Chicago Public Schools voted Tuesday on a plan to return to the classroom in more than 500 schools after nearly 70% of the union's 25,000 members agreed to terms offered by the district.

The plan includes vaccination priority for teachers and staff as well as individual school health safety plans, virus testing and delaying the return of students until structures are in place, probably in March -- all demands the union had asked for in negotiations.

Some of the district's 360,000 students and parents may still opt for at-home instruction, the agreement said.

"The vast majority of CPS families have been separated from their schools for nearly a year, and the ratification of our agreement ensures families have options to choose in-person learning and make a plan that is best for them," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and district head Janice Jackson said in a statement.

The district had originally planed to partially reopen schools in a "hybrid" plan in November, but union members opposed the move.

Jesse Sharkey, union president, criticized Lightfoot's handling of the drawn-out negotiations as a "stain on the record of [her] administration," in a letter to the rank-and-file members. But he also praised the agreement as putting teachers "in a vastly better position than we were in November, when even after months of struggle, CPS' 'planning' and 'preparation' would have been laughable were it not also so dangerous."

After more than 300 days of pandemic closures, thousands of Chicago children in selected schools with younger grades returned to in-person learning in January. Some classes were held outdoors with desks moved to playgrounds, Blockclub Chicago reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that schools are not a source of community spread, when proper masking, sanitation and air filtering is employed. But community spread can become a source of infection in schools, CDC director Rochelle Walensky has said.

In January, the district made accommodations for teachers and staff to begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines at four mass-vaccination sites starting this month, after union members threatened not to return to the classroom.

Other teachers unions in the state praised Wednesday's agreement.

"The agreement with CPS sends a powerful message to every school district that it is imperative to partner with unions to ensure a safe reopening of schools," Illinois Federation of Teachers president Dan Montgomery said in a statement.

"Teachers everywhere want to be in their classrooms with students, but safety must be the priority. ... A safe return can be accomplished when we work together," he added.