Officials again cancel classes in Chicago as COVID-19 impasse between teachers, district drags on

Jan. 10 (UPI) -- School officials in Chicago canceled classes for the fourth consecutive day on Monday amid tense negotiations with a teachers union over COVID-19 safety protocols.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez made the announcement in an email Sunday to parents and teachers across the district after a day of failed dialogue between the district and the union.

The union is seeking a return to remote learning through Jan. 18 after most members voted for it and other safety measures amid the surge in cases of the Omicron variant.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has opposed a return to remote learning and the city's public schools were closed last week.

"There has not been sufficient progress for us to predict a return to class [Monday]," Martinez said in the email. "We will continue to negotiate through the night and will provide an update if we have made substantial progress."

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey told reporters Monday that the two sides are "far apart" on key issues, and accused Lightfoot of bullying teachers.

"The mayor needs to help actually compromise," Sharkey said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "The mayor says she's going to be relentless in prosecuting the case. But she is not a prosecutor, and I am not a criminal."

Sharkey said he hopes the union and school officials can move past the stalemate and urged the district to collaborate on a solution for remote learning.

"The issue here is that of how we're dealing with the pandemic. It's not that teachers don't want to work. We've been working," he said, according to the Tribune.

"We don't like bullies. We don't like tyrants. We're not going to be bullied and pushed in a corner."

Lightfoot told NBC News Sunday that the teachers' refusal to go back to school is illegal.

School data show that almost 6,000 students and 3,000 employees in the district have tested positive during the present school year. Last week, 444 students tested positive in one day. About 7,600 students are in quarantine and unable to attend school, according to the district. Data show that the district has a 9.3% positivity rating for tests last week.