Chicago Teachers Union delegates voted Wednesday to authorize the city's first teacher strike in 16 years on Dec. 4 if contract talks continue to lag.þþThe 543-98 vote by the union's House of Delegates also established Nov. 18 as the day of a strike vote among the union's 33,000 members, who also must approve a walkout before it can happen.þþ þ þÿMediation has gone nowhere,ÿ said Chicago Teachers Union President Deborah Lynch. ÿWe need stronger ammunition. Once our members vote, unless we have a settlement, Dec. 4 would be the first day of the strike.ÿþþThe vote Wednesday was the latest maneuver in an increasingly tense contract dispute that could affect 438,589 children and their families in the nation's third largest school district.þþUnlike recent contentious union meetings, delegates described little dissension during Wednesday's 40-minute session. The only glitch came when a faction that plans to oppose Lynch in spring elections tried to delay the vote, but those members were booed down, delegates said.þþDelegates said the united tone of the meeting was a sign that members understood the vote was necessary to show clout at the negotiating table.þþÿNo one wants to go on strike, but we understand that we must be prepared to do so. Otherwise, our negotiating team wouldn't have the sense of command they need,ÿ said Wadsworth School delegate Marcia Williams in comments echoed by other delegates.þþThe strike vote followed the third mediation session since 60 percent of the city's teachers two weeks ago turned down a tentative contract settlement that was recommended by Lynch and her leadership team.þþThat deal would have provided five years of 4 percent raises, but it also called for increases in health care premiums and prescription co-payments that teachers strongly opposed.þþThe union and members of Mayor Richard Daley's schools team left Wednesday's mediation session without scheduling another one, Lynch said. They also left with radically different views of what happened, indicating the two sides still have work ahead to avoid a strike.þþLynch described an unproductive 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. session in which teachers presented a new health care proposal, the issue identified by teachers as the major reason they turned down the tentative settlement. She said school officials did not respond to the union's proposal.þþLynch said the school district also did not address the other two major sticking points that sunk the first deal--the five-year length of the contract and the slightly longer school day along with a shorter school year.þþIn contrast, Chicago Public Schools spokesman Peter Cunningham painted a more optimistic view. He said school officials were costing out the teachers' proposal and had floated some new ideas, such as establishing a counseling hot line for teachers to help them cope with stress and giving teachers more of a role in selection of the system's health insurance carriers. Those proposals, however, did not address the teachers' three major issues, Lynch said.þþÿIt is too early to talk about a strike because we are still talking,ÿ Cunningham said. ÿThis just alarms parents.ÿþþMayor Richard Daley on Wednesday also made his most extensive remarks since teachers rejected the settlement, insisting teachers had been offered a good deal in comparison to what other major cities are offering.þþIn California, many teachers are taking freezes or pay cuts while many other big cities are offering raises of 1 to 2 percent. The Chicago proposal would have raised beginning teachers' salaries from $34,538 to $42,020 by the fifth year and from $63,276 to $76,985 for teachers with the most experience and education. In addition, teachers get additional pay increases as they gain education and as they gain experience for the first 13 years they stay in the district.þþChicago school officials said the 4 percent raises combined with the raises for experience and education would give some teachers increases of more than 40 percent over five years. For example, a typical Chicago teacher, someone with a master's degree and five years of experience, would see a 45 percent salary increase, to $64,395 from $44,256, by 2007-08.þþÿThere would be very few people in the public or private sector who would turn that kind of deal down,ÿ schools chief Arne Duncan said. ÿWe think it is a good deal, very fair, very reasonable. But we will continue to negotiate and try to bring this to a good resolution.ÿþþLynch said, however, ÿIt was a good deal, but not good enough.ÿþþIn a sign of the increasing stakes, Duncan announced Wednesday that Chicago school officials are beginning an extensive information campaign to tell the community about the terms of the settlement that was turned down. Teachers and parents will receive mailings, and meetings are being scheduled with elected officials and community groups.þþLynch said the union also is engaging in the battle for public opinion by reaching out to parents, community groups and the labor community. She said the school district's negotiators continue to promote the deal that was turned down and mistakenly believe teachers did not understand the settlement they voted down.þþÿBut we are way past that,ÿ Lynch said.þþWhile many teachers balk at the five-year length of the contract, Daley said it is important to maintain stability.þþÿIf there is crisis after crisis like we had before 1995, people lose confidence,ÿ Daley said referring to the year when he assumed responsibility for the schools under state law.þþHe asserted ÿmore and more studentsÿ would flee Chicago's schools for other options if there is a work stoppage.þþDaley, who noted that his late sister was a teacher, discounted the notion that the city's educators are not being shown respect.þþCity taxpayers show their regard by paying 90 percent of the cost of teachers via their property tax bills, he said.þþÿIf they didn't have respect, they would tear it up,ÿ he declared.þ
Source: Chicago Tribune
