Mayor Orders Teachers Back To Schools Monday Sans Deal With Union

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday ordered teachers back to classrooms starting Monday despite not reaching a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union, setting the stage for a school shutdown either by a strike or a remote-learning lockout.

Teachers who don't show up for work will have their access to the district's remote-learning protocol revoked by the end of the day Monday, school officials said. CTU leaders have said a remote-learning lockout would be the impetus for setting up picket lines.

Lightfoot said teachers will have Monday to set up their classrooms and parents who have chosen to send their kids back to schools for in-person learning should prepare to do so on Tuesday.

The mayor said Chicago public schools are "safe" citing public health experts, national studies and three-weeks of in-person learning for prekindergarten and special education students under safety protocols that did not lead to a spike in community spread of the coronavirus.

MORE ON PATCH: Schools To Open Monday Despite No Deal With CTU: Mayor Lightfoot

The school system and the union on Saturday signed off on a number of sticking points, but remained at odds over when teachers and staff will receive COVID-19 vaccines and which teachers qualify for work-from-home accommodations. CTU leaders also want a special set of coronavirus metrics in place that would determine when in-person learning should resume or get rolled back.

The two sides didn't make any progress on those issues Sunday, and sparred on social media over who should take the blame for stalled talks.

CTU claimed on Twitter that, "The CPS bargaining team was instructed not to attend negotiations today unless our teachers, clinicians, PSRPs, nurses, librarians and other rank-and-file educators were prepared to make major concessions."

The Chicago school district offered a "fact check" Twitter rebuttal in a post that read: "Our bargaining team was told by CTU leadership that they were unavailable to meet until they could develop a response to our most recent offer. Our team has been standing by all day."

At a news conference, Lightfoot said school officials are "practically begging" CTU leaders — who she said did not participate in Sunday negotiations — to come to the table to seal a deal that would return teachers to classrooms without a work stoppage.

The mayor said she has told the school system negotiators to "stay up all night" to reach a deal if that's what it takes.