Chicago fight with teachers union stretches into 2nd week

The leader of the Chicago Teachers Union is blaming the city’s mayor for a continued standoff over COVID-19 protocols

CHICAGO -- The leader of the Chicago Teachers Union on Monday blamed the city’s mayor for the continued standoff over COVID-19 protocols as classes for hundreds of thousands of students were canceled for a fourth day.

CTU President Jesse Sharkey said union and district representatives negotiated until 10 p.m. Sunday but “remain apart on a number of key features” that teachers want before returning to classrooms, including a testing program and triggers to close a school for in-person instruction due to an outbreak.

Sharkey accused Mayor Lori Lightfoot of refusing to compromise on teachers' main priorities and said union leadership can't go back to members with what the mayor's team has offered so far.

“The mayor is being relentless but she’s being relentlessly stupid, she’s being relentlessly stubborn," he said during a Monday news conference. “She’s relentlessly refusing to seek accommodation and we’re trying to find a way to get people back in school.”