Up to 26,000 teachers and support staff were expected to join existing strikers after union leaders announced that they were nowhere near coming to an amicable solution with school district officials, according to reports.
According to Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, negotiations stemming from talks over the weekend regarding compensation are much closer to being resolved than other issues like changes to health benefits and a new teacher evaluation system based on students scores on standardized tests.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he wants to work to end the strike quickly, especially as it was not a strike he wanted and he feels it was "avoidable, unnecessary and wrong."
Teachers also say they want a quick resolution to the strike, which some hope will end with better wages and classroom conditions, as well as restoring previously laid-off teachers.
The Chicago Teachers Union has a rally planned for 3:30 pm on Monday (September 10, 2012), outside of Chicago Public School Headquarters. The union had set a midnight deadline last night for a walkout and negotiations are said to resume on Monday at 10:00 am.
This is the first time in over 25 years that teachers in Chicago schools have gone on strike. Although the hopes of educators, city officials and parents alike are that the strike will end quickly, the issues involved are many and complex, which could mean negotiations will stretch on for a significant amount of time.
"This is a difficult decision and one we hoped we could have avoided," Lewis said. "We must do things differently in this city if we are to provide our students with the education they so rightfully deserve."
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