Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot began to crumble to a tidal wave of pressure and criticism from the city’s striking teachers and their allies on Thursday and said she was willing work out a compromise on whether school make-up days will be included in the Chicago Teachers Union’s new contract following a two-week strike.
The make-up days were a sticking point in a tentative deal reached Wednesday, which CTU’s governing body accepted in a 362-242 vote. Anger simmered amongst union members following the vote over Lightfoot’s refusal to allow the teachers to make up the 10 school days they have missed so far during the strike.
Click Here: camiseta boca juniors
“By attempting to withhold makeup days, Lightfoot is attempting to rob children of precious classroom time in order to punish teachers for striking.”
—Kelly Hayes, organizerAccording to the Chicago Sun-Times, Lightfoot told reporters Thursday morning that she wanted CTU “to come to the table to compromise on makeup days,” but said she wouldn’t accept “unilateral demands.”
The statement suggested the mayor was backing off her earlier demand that teachers return to school without an agreement that would allow them to make up lost days at the end of the school year.
“I’m not compensating them for days they were out on strike,” Lightfoot said late Wednesday. “I’m not going to negotiate.”
The union and its supporters lashed out at the mayor for what appeared to be a punitive response to the teachers for exercising their right to strike and demanding fair compensation and funding.
“We’re not walking away from two weeks of school,” CTU president Jesse Sharkey told the press. “This has always been a thing. It’s labor law. Strikes end with a return to work agreement… What happened is this is a mayor who has felt personally affronted and challenged by the fact that teachers have been on picket lines.”
Sharkey said he would meet with the mayor Thursday, while teachers continued rallying at City Hall.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT