Chicago teachers extend strike, mayor seeks court order

[Stan In FL]

the union wants to drag it out as long as they can.  and the president of the teacher's union is semi-literate.

Chicago teachers extend strike, mayor seeks court order

CHICAGO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The confrontation between Chicago teachers and Mayor Rahm Emanuel escalated on Sunday when their union extended a strike and the mayor said he would go to court to block the walkout, risking more friction within President Barack Obama's political coalition as the Nov. 6 election nears.

There will be no classes in Chicago public schools on Monday and Tuesday, affecting 350,000 kindergarten, elementary and high school students.

The showdown left in doubt a deal on wages, benefits and education reforms for 29,000 unionized teachers that negotiators thought they had struck on Friday to end the biggest labor dispute in the United States in a year.

It also could widen a rift within the Democratic Party between education reformers such as Obama's former top White House aide Emanuel, and organized labor, which the Democrats need to get out the vote in the election.

Chicago union President Karen Lewis said some 800 union delegates met on Sunday and decided to consult with rank-and-file members before voting whether to end the walkout.

"There's no trust (of the school district and mayor)," Lewis said. "So you have a population of people who are frightened of never being able to work for no fault of their own."

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[GeronL]

Insanity

[apples]

Chicago teacher's strike enters second week

CHICAGO, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The Chicago Teachers Union said Sunday night the teachers' strike will disrupt a second week of classes while members review the district's offer.

The teachers union's decision not to send their members back to work Monday prompted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to vow to seek a court injunction that would force the teachers back into the classroom, the Chicago Tribune reported. The mayor said the walkout is illegal because it is over issues state law does not allow strikes over and because it "endangers the health and safety of our children."

"I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union," Emanuel said. "This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children. Every day our kids are kept out of school is one more day we fail in our mission: to ensure that every child in every community has an education that matches their potential.

"I have instructed the city's corporation counsel to work with the general counsel of Chicago Public Schools to file an injunction in circuit court to immediately end this strike and get our children back in the classroom."

The newspaper said city schools will remain closed at least until Wednesday after the union's House of Delegates refused to end the walkout because members indicated they needed more time to read and understand the details of the proposed agreement.

Read more: http://www.kfiam640.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104668&article=10421282#ixzz26kCzbJBi