The Chicago Teachers Union “overwhelmingly” voted to remain working from home due to concerns over the coronavirus, which defies the Chicago Public Schools’ reopening plans.
“So what does this mean? It means the overwhelming majority of you have chosen safety,” the union wrote. “CPS did everything possible to divide us by instilling fear though threats of retaliation, but you still chose unity, solidarity and to collectively act as one.”
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All in, about 86% of the 25,000 members voted on the resolution, with 71% voting in support of working from home.
The district planned to bring 70,000 elementary students back into classrooms beginning Feb. 1 and wanted teachers back in classrooms to plan for their return.
The union said that the vote to work from home does not constitute a strike, but it would strike if the school district blocks the teachers from working remotely.
“If no agreement is reached come Wednesday, it remains unclear if CPS would lock out all its teachers from remote work as it has done with a few dozen pre-Kindergarten and special education staff members who have not reported to work as ordered this month. The union has said it would strike in that scenario,” the Chicago Sun Times reported.
An official of the school district said if teachers don’t work on Monday, it would be viewed as a strike.
“I think my point was clear that if the union refuses to work on Monday, that constitutes a strike,” schools chief Janice Jackson said.
The vote comes after one board member of the union made national headlines earlier this month after she advocated for working remotely while she vacationed in Puerto Rico.
“Spending the last day of 2020 poolside. We have the whole pool to ourselves. Then, we are going to old San Juan to get some yummy seafood mofongo! We have an entire private Airbnb house to ourselves. I’m here with my friend who also had covid,” Sarah Chambers, a member of the union’s executive board and area vice president, wrote on Instagram hours before advocating some Chicago teachers don’t return to the classroom.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this month that virus outbreaks aren’t driven by in-person classes and “recommends that K-12 schools be the last settings to close after all other mitigation measures have been employed and the first to reopen when they can do so safely.”
