Chicago Teachers Have Overwhelmingly Voted To Strike

By Mae Rice in News on Sep 26, 2016 4:40PM

Protesters at CTU's April "Day of Action" (Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist)

Chicago teachers have voted to authorize a strike, the Chicago Teachers Union announced Monday. With 90.6 percent turnout, 95 percent of union members voted in favor of a strike—which would be the third CTU work stoppage, and second official strike, of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's time in office.

On Wednesday, CTU officials will decide whether to issue a 10-day strike notice. The strike would start, at the earliest, on Oct. 11.

The strike, if executed, will come on the heels of April's "Day of Action" and a historic, week-long strike in 2012. Prior to that 2012 strike, Chicago teachers had not gone on strike in 25 years, which means Rahm's five-year tenure as Mayor has covered more strikes than Richard M. Daley's 22-year tenure as mayor.

Chicago teachers and Rahm have clashed on numerous issues, ranging from hefty CPS budget cuts to teaching contracts.

We've reached out to the CTU for more details, and will update this post if we hear back.