A labor court has denied the Chicago Teachers Union’s attempt to delay the planned reopening of Chicago Public Schools in January .
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board ruled in a 2-1 vote against allowing the union to proceed with its request for a preliminary injunction.
If the union were successful, the injunction would have blocked the scheduled Jan. 4 return date for preschool and special education cluster program staff. Their students are set to return Jan. 11
The decision is a setback for the union, which was looking to fully bargain with the district over when students and teachers would return to school buildings.
If the vote had passed, the board would have asked Illinois’ attorney general to immediately go to court seeking an injunction for the CTU. The union will instead have to go to trial if it wants to continue its case, which might not be resolved before the early January return.
“We will request that the IELRB set a trial date for next week and for a decision to issue the first week of [January],” the union said after the ruling. “Without that timeline, CPS could be allowed to put people in danger with its unilateral plan that likely will end up being declared illegal after the fact."
District spokeswoman Emily Bolton said after the ruling that “the district commends the IELRB for ruling in favor of the more than 77,000 CPS students whose families have asked to return to schools.”
The union is seeking to ensure that school facilities are safe for its members before in-person classes resume. If its concerns are not resolved, it could look at options including a potential work stoppage in the coming weeks.
