Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says there is no reason for a teachers' strike to happen
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson met with officials from the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union Wednesday, and afterward called for finding a compromise and avoiding a teachers' strike.
The mayor met Wednesday with CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, and Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), head of the City Council Budget Committee.
The mayor said the meeting was not a negotiation session, but just a "conversation to find a pathway forward together" and seek out potential compromises to avert a work stoppage that would keep kids out of school and parents home from work.
"There's no reason for any of these outcomes when we are so close to landing a deal," Mayor Johnson said.
Among the outstanding issues on which there is not yet consensus is instructional prep time, the mayor said. But he said CPS and the union are not far apart at all.
"It comes down to less than $10 million. It comes down to a handful of teachers. It comes down to just having real direction around minutes that are best utilized to support our educators and the students that they serve," Mayor Johnson said.
Also unresolved are how often teachers should be evaluated, how instructional days are organized for elementary teachers, and raises for veteran teachers.
"Those issues are just so narrow in terms of their ability to settle," the mayor said. "That's why I've called on both sides to stay at the table, get this deal done."
Mayor Johnson said the bottom line is that there is no reason for a strike to happen.
"I'll say it like this. I'll be very candid here — the separation right now between the Board of Education and our workers is not substantial. They're not," Mayor Johnson said, "and again, it's totally not worth students not being in our classrooms."
After 11 months of negotiating a new deal, Davis Gates recently sent a note to Martinez — saying the lack of a deal precipitates a disruption.
At a separate news conference Wednesday afternoon, Davis Gates again accused Martinez of standing in the way of a deal.
"The mayor says that $9 Million and ten minutes shouldn't be an issue. He's ready to land it," she said. "So Pedro's the only person who is not ready to land it. And he was very emphatic in saying the mayor isn't his boss."
Martinez indicated that he believed he and CPS were on their own.
"This was not a negotiation setting," he said. "First of all, you have, the power dynamics are just unfair."
The mayor himself is a CTU member "on leave."
Though not naming names, Mayor Johnson had fresh criticism for Martinez earlier this week. The mayor said Chicagoans trust his own vision for public schools.
The Chicago Board of Education is set to vote on a new budget Thursday.
