The union representing Chicago's public school teachers has voted to walk off the job for one day on April 1 to protest the state legislature's failure to pass a budget and what union says is the district's refusal to bargain in good faith with teachers.
Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, says union delegates voted by a nearly 4-to-1 ratio to stage the one-day strike, which would cause the district's 396,000 student to miss a day of instruction.
The union leader characterizes the strike as a protest against unfair labor practices and the poor financial condition of the district that has resulted in job and program cuts in the nation's third-largest public school system.
Chicago Schools CEO Forrest Claypool contends that the walkout would be illegal.
To explain the planned strike to parents, the union says, teachers should tell them "their children deserve fully funded schools, and that we, as educators, along with their families and communities, have the power to lead the city in a fight against the mayor and governor’s attacks. Ask them to join us as we stand ready to strike and lose one more day of pay to demand that the city and state put money back into our schools."
Video from WBBM-TV:
