Sharkey said Wednesday that while the preliminary agreement did not meet all of CTU`s requirements, it met many of the union`s key concerns, such as limiting class sizes and hiring more support staff. CTU delegates approved the interim agreement on Wednesday, but did not immediately end the strike and asked Mayor Lori Lightfoot to charge compensation to every school day lost. Lightfoot refused to catch up every 11 days, and after a nearly two-hour meeting with CTU President Jesse Sharkey on Thursday, he decided to make up for five lost days and end the strike. The agreement would also give workers up to 10 days of unpaid work “to deal with immigration or citizenship issues.” The agreement also pays more attention to special students and promises that by July 2023, CPS will provide at least one part-time case manager for each school of 50 students in individualized education plans, with levels of up to 2.5 for schools with 300 or more students. Another big union boost was more nurses and social workers. To this end, the provisional agreement provides that CPS would hire at least 250 nurses and 209 social workers, with the phasing out of a number of positions per year, “provided there are sufficient qualified candidates.” Some students immediately see the benefits of this additional staff, with schools prioritized based on their needs. Several provisions of the interim agreement deal with immigration issues. Wednesday`s preliminary agreement between the Chicago Teachers` Union and Chicago Public Schools was presented by both sides as a historic measure to improve the lives of the city`s children. Measures to combat overcrowding will therefore only come into force if there are 4, 4 and 7 students respectively above what a normal class should have, according to the agreement. If teachers refuse the provisional agreement, the Chamber of Deputies should vote in favour of resuming the strike.
After ten days of strikes and months of negotiations with the city, the Chicago Teachers` Union has tabled an interim contract tonight in the 700-member Chamber of Deputies. After a heated debate, delegates voted 364 to 242 in favour of the agreement as long as the city allows members to make up for their missed workdays. The tentative agreement between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers` Union was passed Wednesday night by CTU`s elected delegates by 362-242 distant votes. The agreement is still subject to the union`s agreement. And CPS doesn`t need to set the costs yet. The interim contract between the CTU and the CPS includes an overall increase of 16 per cent over five years, as well as additional increases based on the seniority of teachers. The agreement also contains provisions for the recruitment of hundreds of nurses and social workers over the duration of the contract; New limits for class size – 28 for kindergarten to Grade 3, 31 for 4th to 4th grade and 25 to 31 students for high school, depending on the type of class. The 41-day agreement contains details on everything from salary increases to class size restrictions. A new implementation procedure would involve a joint board with effect in the next school year, capable of defining corrective measures. In cases where classes exceed “excessive” class limits, “there will be an automatic investigation by the Joint Council, which will result in a funded appeal,” says a copy of the interim agreement. Now that the teachers` union has voted in favour of adopting the preliminary agreement with the town hall, the more than 25,000 members of the union will vote on the contract.
Lightfoot accused the union of “moving the posts out of the door.” Following an interim agreement, the union wanted an agreement on a return to work that would have allowed teachers to make up for all the days lost for the strike – which was common in previous agreements to end the strikes. CHICAGO (CBS) – Teachers from more than 500 schools in Chicago will then vote on ratifying a five-year tentative agreement with the Chica