Chicago Teachers Union Choose To Continue Strike[VIDEO]
The Chicago teachers union has decided to continue its weeklong strike.
The decision extends an acrimonious standoff with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over teacher evaluations and job security provisions central to the debate over the future of public education across the United States.
Emanuel said he would seek a court order to end the strike, which he said is illegal under state law. “This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children,” he said in a written statement.
Union delegates declined to formally vote on a proposed contract settlement worked out over the weekend with officials from the nation’s third largest school district. Schools will remain closed Monday.
Union president Karen Lewis says teachers want the opportunity to continue to discuss the offer that’s on the table.
Lewis says “Our members are not happy,” adding, “They want to know if there is anything more they can get.”
According to Lewis, the teachers “feel rushed.”
Lewis says the union’s delegates will meet again Tuesday, and the soonest classes for 350,000 students are likely to resume is Wednesday.
The walkout is the first in Chicago in 25 years
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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