The Chicago Teachers Union has proved time and again that they don’t want to follow the science. Countless studies have shown that the best place for children to be during the pandemic is inside of the classrooms. It allows them to get an education, protects their mental health, and allows them to stay within a “pod.”
The teachers of Chicago, though, want to protect themselves. They could care less about science. And, they’d much rather teach from a comfortable position inside of their home.
They’ve decided to go on strike in order to get some of their demands met. And yes, these are demands that are above and beyond the demands that they made last year.
There’s just one problem with their plans to strike – they’ve been thwarted by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The in-battle between the teachers union and the mayor is glorious.
First of all, the Chicago Teachers Union decided that they would be working remotely based on the results of an electronic vote that they took. 73 percent of teachers were in favor of a remote-work option. Forget about what the kids, the parents, or even the mayor wanted.
Their demands were ridiculous. They said they would return when the surge in COVID cases “substantially” subsides. They are likely the ones to determine what defines “substantially.” And, we’re also talking about cases that, for the most part, result in symptoms that are no more serious than the common cold.
The only other way they would return is if the mayor’s team at CPS “signs an agreement establishing concerns for return” AND that it is voted on and approved by the House of Delegates within the Chicago Teachers Union.
American taxpayers are shoveling millions of dollars into the schools to make them safe. Teachers are being given N95 masks and COVID tests, all at no cost to them.
We keep hearing time and again that closing public schools is actually the biggest public health failure of the pandemic, so why do the Chicago teachers think that they can get away with this?
Chicago’s city government isn’t playing around. Normally, we’d expect Lightfoot to fall in line with the far-left demands of the CTU. Only, she isn’t playing around.
CTU members were locked out of their Google classrooms. The trending hashtag is #LoriLockout.
Take that. The CTU members think that they can organize strikes using the tools inside Google classrooms. Yet, those same Google Classrooms and Google Hangouts belong to the Chicago government.
It’s nice to see that Lori Lightfoot isn’t the far-left monster in all regards. She believes it’s important to get teachers back into the classrooms because she knows that it’s what’s best for students. It’s also what’s best for the economy since many parents can only go to work when they know that their kids are safely in school for the better part of a day.
Did the teachers union really think that they could use a city account to organize and spread their strike? Lightfoot’s not playing around. If they want to organize a way to not support kids in her city, they’ll have to figure out another way to get the job done.
Right now, the schools are still virtual…but that’s likely not going to last long since Lightfoot has proven that she’s not about to let the teachers union call all of the shots.
