Chicago Teachers Remain on Strike

UNIONS

CHICAGO TEACHERS REMAIN ON STRIKE: The 25,000-member Chicago Teachers Union, on strike since Oct. 17, is set to miss another day of school, and Chicago Public Schools will remain closed. Teachers have been striking for reduced class size, nurses and social workers in schools, among other things. CTU on Sunday told Chicago Public Schools that it would not reach a deal and will head into an eighth day of striking. This will be the longest teachers strike in Chicago since 1987, when the teachers strike lasted 19 days.

Struggling to make Sac City Unified a destination district

BY VICTORIA CARR  A Teachers' Voice 

Special to The Bee

I have been a teacher in the Sacramento City Unified School District for 10 years. I am also the parent of two young students in the district.

This year I wanted to become part of our union’s bargaining team because the district was in such a strong financial position, contrary to the lean years of the Great Recession of 2008 and its aftermath.

Those lean years have passed. Voter approval of Propositions 30 and 55 have greatly improved school financing in California.

Our union expanded our bargaining team to include a wide variety of certificated staff. Many have never been involved in bargaining. Our goal was to work with district administrators to “Make Sac City the Destination District for California.”

But the district didn’t really want our involvement. Our first bargaining session was Oct. 11, 2016, at 4 p.m. Rather than welcome me and my co-workers who were there on our time after a full day of teaching, the district’s negotiating team fought unsuccessfully to keep us out.

After 17 bargaining sessions, I now understand why. What we have seen over the past six months at the bargaining table has been startling.