A collective sigh of relief floated across Chicago early Wednesday as parents learned that teachers had narrowly approved a four-year contract, averting a strike that would have affected 400,000 children and their families.þþThe difficult journey to a settlement left union leaders with a divided membership, many of whom greeted the deal with a sense of resignation rather than triumph.þþChicago teachers had predicted a squeaker of a vote, and the 15,104 to 12,599 tally was tight. The vote was too close to call until about 3 a.m. Wednesday, when the outcome was announced almost a full day after teachers began voting in the city's 600 schools.þþA vote to approve the contract--which provides 4 percent annual raises--also was a vote against a Dec. 4 walkout.þþÿThere will be no strike,ÿ said Chicago Teachers Union President Deborah Lynch, standing outside union offices at the Merchandise Mart about 6 a.m. The Board of Education approved the deal at a meeting later in the day.þþThe final vote tally will be released Thursday and will include about 520 votes from six schools that were erroneously delivered by a messenger service to the wrong building. The outcome of the vote will stand, according to the American Arbitration Association, which certified the election.þþUnder the contract, teachers will see beginning salaries rise from $34,538 to $40,404 by 2006-07, and educators with the most experience and doctorates will watch top pay go from $63,276 to $74,024 over the next four years. Teachers will receive checks before Christmas with pay increases retroactive to July.þþIn a milestone for the union and the school system, the Chicago Public Schools committed $2 million from its budget to create smaller classes in the youngest grades in overcrowded schools.þþSix panels across the city will visit overcrowded schools and recommend solutions, which could include reassigning some administrative jobs to provide additional classroom teachers or distributing special-education students more fairly among schools.þþUnion chief somberþþDespite the gains, Lynch's mood was subdued rather than self-congratulatory in recognition of the lingering discontent among the substantial number of teachers who voted against the deal. In many cases, the dissatisfaction centered on increased health insurance costs.þþÿI think the vote that just happened showed a reluctant yes,ÿ said Jesse Sharkey, a teacher at Senn High School on the North Side.þþLynch acknowledged that the 55-45 percent vote was a ÿrelatively close oneÿ and said Chicago teachers continue to perform amazing work in ÿconditions that would try any of us.ÿþþLynch's serious tone also reflected the troubles she and her leadership team had endured to gain approval of the first contract negotiated since they were elected more than two years ago. Teachers turned down a five-year pact with the same raises last month, forcing union leaders who had recommended the deal back to the table.þþÿOne contract can't make up for the last 10 to 20 yearsÿ of low raises, Lynch said.þþLater Wednesday morning at City Hall, Lynch and school and city officials each touted the aspects of the contract that were important to them.þþMayor Richard Daley, who originally wanted a longer deal, talked about the importance of 16 years of labor peace and stability for families in the public schools.þþÿI want to assure every teacher that we will do all we can to support them,ÿ said Daley, who raised the possibility of better raises in better economic times.þþSchools chief Arne Duncan, who had a black eye from a basketball game, tried to lighten the atmosphere. He joked that negotiations had been tough, but his injury ÿwas not a result of that.ÿþþHe went on to emphasize the importance of adding 15 minutes to the school day while cutting a week off the end of the school year, when ÿlots of cleaning of desksÿ takes place rather than ÿlots of teaching and learning.ÿþþLynch, Duncan and Daley all said a last-minute campaign against the contract by the board that oversees city teacher pensions had contributed to the close vote on Tuesday.þþÿYou talk about pensions and everyone jumps off the bridge,ÿ Daley said of the faulty information in the pension board letter, which was later retracted.þþThough school and city officials praised the gains in the contract, not all teachers in the city agreed.þþWorn-out from debateþþMost teachers at Casals Elementary School, 3501 W. Potomac Ave., in West Humboldt Park said they went to work Wednesday with feelings of resignation.þþThe school had some notoriety because it was one of two schools in which all union members voted against the first tentative contract in October. This time, 40 teachers voted against and only five voted to pass it.þþÿThe union and the [school] board--their propaganda was well orchestrated,ÿ said Barbara Phipps, the curriculum coordinator at the school and a teacher for 29 years. She and others said the contract did not do enough for veteran teachers.þþÿI feel like we got sold down the river,ÿ said Vivian Shane, a teacher for 30 years.þþPhipps said Lynch should take heed of the close vote in light of her upcoming re-election in the spring.þþÿMs. Lynch should be hearing footsteps,ÿ she warned.þþTeacher Minette Bell said it was quiet at Casals Wednesday, with teachers worn-out from talking about the contract for weeks.þþÿWe have no choice but to go along with it,ÿ Bell said.þþHer 4th-grade students in an after-school tutoring program seemed happy to be in class and were well aware that things could have been quite different come December.þþShameka Mason, 10, found out about the contract before school Wednesday morning while watching the news on television. A strike was not what she wanted, she said with conviction.þþÿI didn't want to stay out of school for a long time,ÿ the 4th grader said. ÿI didn't want to stay home doing nothing.ÿþþCharvella Christmas, a working parent at Hoyne Elementary School on the South Side, also was glad the strike was averted before the holiday season starts.þþTeachers ÿunderstood how important the issue was that the children remain in school. I really felt in my heart that this time of the year, there weren't many people that wanted to go on strike,ÿ Christmas said.þþ
Source: Chicago Tribune
