Chicago Teachers Strike, Day 1: Friday classes officially canceled

The Chicago Teachers Union is on strike Thursday after failing to reach a deal with Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Lori Lightfoot by last night’s deadline.

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Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

The first day of the Chicago Teachers Union strike concluded with no contract deal. Friday classes are canceled, and representatives from Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union will meet again tomorrow to continue negotiations.

Here’s what happened across Chicago as teachers, parents, students and politicians grappled with the strike.

8:00 p.m. CPS special ed parents could benefit from strike in the long run — but bear tough burden in meantime

At Alcott Elementary in Lincoln Park, special education support staff form “the backbone of our school,” as one mother put it.

But special ed staffing levels have emerged as one of the stickiest points of contention that led to the strike that got underway Thursday by the Chicago Teachers Union. The issue is so important to workers that for the first time in history, the union representing 7,500 special education and other support staffers, SEIU Local 73, joined teachers on the picket line.

Special education students could have the most to gain from the strike’s resolution if the unions get what they want.

Lauren FitzPatrick dives into how special ed families are coping with the strike.

6:24 p.m. Classes canceled Friday as negotiations wrap up for the day

Chicago teachers will continue their strike Friday and all classes will be canceled, officials said Thursday evening.

Bargaining continued Thursday afternoon at Malcolm X College on the Near West Side after a downtown rally and march.

Lauren FitzPatrick and Nader Issa have live updates here on contract negotiations.

5:37 p.m. CPS students discuss teachers strike while designing at Harold Washington Library’s YOUMedia Lab

Two seniors at Lane Tech High School who spent much of Thursday afternoon designing clothing at the YOUmedia Lab at Harold Washington Library both said they understand why their teachers wanted to go on strike.

Sarahi Dominguez, of Little Village, said her mother works as an aide at Lozano Elementary School in Noble Square and was taking part in the massive teachers march in the Loop. Dominguez said her mother often has a hard time making ends meet during the summer months, adding that she was started working at a Little Caesars restaurant to help cover school-related costs.

“I saw how hard it was on my mom so the fact that she wanted to go striking, I fully support her on it,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez’s classmate Aaron Harden noted that he eventually wants to become a teacher. He said he understands that educators “need to show that they need help,” especially those with financial burdens that continue to teach “because of their love and support they have for their students.”

“They need to stand up and show how committed they are to that,” said Harden, who lives in Englewood.

“But on the other hand, [Chicago’s] money situation is a problem and we need to figure out how to solve it,” he added.

Daniel Thorson, assistant manager of the YOUmedia Lab, said some of the students who typically show up after school hours came right when the doors opened at 1 p.m. Within two hours, there were around a dozen kids practicing instruments, playing video games and working on computers.

The flagship YOUmedia Lab, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, has been credited with harnessing the talent of a list of Chicago musicians, including Chance the Rapper, Saba, Noname and Malcolm London. Photos of the famous alumna are featured prominently in the media center.

Harden said he has been coming to YOUmedia since his sophomore year to explore his interests in both music and fashion design.

“I know that if I have a network of music as well as fashion with my friends and family, that as a teacher I can help my students so they can grow,” he said.

Sarahi Dominguez and Aaron Harden at Harold Washington LIbrary’s YOUMedia Lab.

Tom Schuba/Sun-Times

Tom Schuba

4:45 p.m. Teachers rally ends with sore feet, determination

After winding through downtown streets to Butler Field, strikers on the march said they were energized and committed.

Though some complained of sore feet and hoarse voices made raw by chants and songs, teachers said they were ready to come back tomorrow and next week if necessary.

“Compared to the emotional toll of being in the schools and not having the support we need, this is nothing,” said Adilene Aguilara, a science teacher at Washington High School.

“We are fighting for our students. That puts you in a place where you’re committed to seeing this to the end,” Aguilara said.

Her friend, Jerica Jurado, agreed.

“This is about supporting our homeless students. Our students with trauma. Our students with medical needs, which aren’t being met right now,” Jurado said. “I’m ready to do this every day until we have a deal.”

Jurado, a sixth-grade teacher at Eberhart Elementary, said she felt the union sent a strong message to the city on Thursday and showed Mayor Lori Lightfoot that they were committed to their cause.

“Today we sent a message we’re not going to back down,” Jurado said. “Lightfoot knows we’re prepared.”

Brittany Barker, a second-grade teacher at Adam Clayton Powell Elementary, said bringing together the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU at the march sent a message to the city that the strikers had a lot of support to fall back on.

“It’s amazing we all came together today and we showed them we are stronger together,” Barker said. “And we have the support of our friends and family, our churches and our students. We’re strong.”

Still Barker said, she would like nothing more than to be back at work Monday.

“The best thing would be for a deal to get done by Sunday and I’ll be back Monday,” Barker said.

But if no deal comes together?

“We’ll be right back here doing it again,” she said.

— Matthew Hendrickson

4:22 p.m. Picket line, downtown CTU rally a ‘teachable moment’ — for strikers’ own kids

Chicago Public Schools employees on strike Thursday said they brought their children to the downtown rally at CPS headquarters to show them the power of collective action and to demand a bright future for their students.

Gabrielle Odom, 12, said she was amazed by the size of the crowd at the rally, which was estimated to be in the thousands.

“I was expecting it to be smaller. A few people holding signs. This is so many people,” Gabrielle said.

Read Matthew Hendrickson’s full report on the CPS employees who brought their children along for the first major walkout since 2012.

3:16 p.m. Expect heavy traffic and reroutes if you’re in the Loop right now

With over a thousand people participating in the teachers rally downtown, traffic will be congested for commuters when rush hour hits this evening.

The rally started at 1 p.m. outside Chicago Public School Headquarters in the Loop. Marchers headed down to convene in front of City Hall.

The marchers left City Hall and are now continuing down LaSalle, according to a Sun-Times reporter at the scene. Streets are closed east and west on either side of LaSalle as the marchers turned east on Jackson Boulevard. The rally is expected end in Butler Field at Grant Park.

Traffic is being rerouted to accommodate the marchers.

— Alison Martin

2:36 p.m. “It’s a piece of history and I’m glad I’m here to see it.”

“I’m pro-union so I understand what they’re about and what they’re doing,” said a 52-year-old Park Ridge resident who works in the Loop keeping the printers working for a large company. She asked her name not be used.

“I wish there was more visibility about what the exact issues are and what the negotiations are like,” she said.

“It’s definitely an amazing show of force,” she said.

“It’s also slightly worrisome because all it takes is one bad apple or small event and this could be a mob.”

“But it’s a piece of history and I’m glad I’m here to see it.”

The roadway on Madison is completely packed for one block from Dearborn to State with CTU members wearing red.

— Mitch Dudek

2:08 p.m. Scenes from the picket line in Thursday’s CTU strike

Waves of red and picket signs were hard to avoid early Thursday across Chicago as the teachers union staged its first major walkout since 2012 between 6:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Striking teachers do what they can to draw attention Thursday outside Gray Elementary School on the Northwest Side.  Oct 17. 2019

Stefano Esposito/Sun-Times

Check out some of the best photos from across the city of Thursday’s strike here.

1:41 p.m. Head of teachers union says deal ‘highly unlikely’ today

The president of the Chicago Teachers Union says it’s “highly unlikely” a deal will be reached today.

While Jesse Sharkey said talks have been positive at a bargaining session between the city and union at Malcolm X College on the Near West Side, it was unlikely a deal would be reached tonight. That means school would likely not be in session Friday, but no official decision has been announced on whether classes will be canceled.

Sharkey said the district presented a written proposal on the union’s class-size demands.

The bargaining session wrapped up around 1 p.m., just in time for CTU leaders to make it downtown for the union’s rally in front of CPS headquarters.

The two sides planned to reconvene at the table later in the afternoon after the 1:30 p.m. rally.

SEIU Local 73 are set to continue to strike Friday.

— Nader Issa

Nader Issa and Lauren Fitzpatrick have live updates here on where things stand in the contract negotiations.

1:07 p.m. Teachers gather outside CPS headquarters

Teachers have started gathering outside CPS headquarters for a massive rally and march this afternoon. The event is expected to draw thousands, including some elected officials who have supported the CTU.

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Teachers gather outside CPS headquarters.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

— Ashlee Rezin & Nader Issa

12:56 p.m. Kids say Salvation Army contingency site ‘feels a lot like school’

About two dozen Chicago Public School students had lunch at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Center Thursday afternoon.

Students forced to miss class because of the strike can arrive as early as 6 a.m. and stay as late as 6 p.m. every day the strike goes on. It costs $15 a day, but kids receive a hot lunch, take math, reading and art classes and have time to exercise.

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Kids get a hot lunch at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Center, a contingency site.

Manny Ramos/Sun-Times

“It’s been fun because we did a lot of activities like bible study and exercising,” 11-year-old Ariyah Black said. “Even though we are not in school it feels a lot like school in the Kroc Center because we did mathematic activities.”

Dina Rutledge, director of arts and education at the Kroc center, said the learning environment is inclusive to children with disabilities. Only 25 kids came in today, but she thinks more will arrive as the strike goes on. Capacity is 200 people.

“Our programs are structured so its not a free for all kind of thing,” senior Kroc officer John Pook said. “We are going to be here for the kids as long as it takes for them to work it out.”

— Manny Ramos

12:52 p.m. Check out the signs from the picket lines this morning

A papier-mâché pencil with “put it in writing” written across it, a cardboard sign quoting Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” and others in Spanish and Chinese — the languages many Chicago students speak — could be see on the picket line this morning.

Here are some of the signs teachers toted while on strike:

— Chicago Sun-Times Staff

12:21 p.m. Parents, students hope strike can be resolved soon

Rene Alvarez remembers when his teachers went on strike as a kid in Mexico, so it’s hard for him to complain about Thursday’s schools shut down.

“I was there, marching with them,” he said in Spanish.

Alvarez’s daughter, Alexa, is a second-grader at Cooper Elementary in Pilsen. Instead of taking her to a drop-off center, Alvarez brought Alexa to the playground at Harrison Park.

“I work the nightshift and I usually don’t get to spend time with her during the day like this,” he said.

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Rene Alvarez pushes his daughter, Alexa, on a swing in Harrison Park.

Carlos Ballesteros/Sun-Times

Alvarez tries to keep up with the news about the strike; he’s heard some teachers in the city have over 40 students in their classrooms, and sympathizes with some of their demands.

“In Mexico, the most I remember we had in one classroom was 35. I can’t imagine 40,” he said.

Still, Alvarez hopes the strike can be resolved soon.

“I don’t want [Alexa] to miss any more days than she has to,” he said.

Alexa feels the same way.

“I like school,” she said. “I like math, I like my friends, I like playing with them in recess, I like all the activities we do. I hope we go back soon.”

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Rene Alvarez plays with his daughter, Alexa, in Harrison Park.

Carlos Ballesteros/Sun-Times

— Carlos Ballesteros

11:43 a.m. ‘This is bigger than just a strike’

Veteran teachers and aides had music and drums outside the Ray Graham Training Center, a special education high school at 23rd and Wabash for young adults with moderate to severe disabilities.

They’d picketed and marched in 2012, the last time the CTU went on strike, but school clerk Catalina Cardena said that kids’ needs in CPS have grown since then.

Special ed teachers Kimberly Reid — also the school’s delegate — and Abisola Bakare said the amount of paperwork and other administrative tasks they were responsible for have steadily gone up, leaving them less time to be with students. Part of that stems from the state, which took control over CPS’ special education department after kids were found to have been denied services.

“This is bigger than just a strike,” Reid said. “We’re trying to change the schools, it’s not about just money and benefits.”

— Lauren FitzPatrick

11:15 a.m. CTU leaders resume negotiations with city officials

After picketing with teachers earlier in the morning, CTU leaders Jesse Sharkey and Stacy Davis Gates met up at Malcolm X College on the Near West Side to resume negotiations with city officials. Thursday’s bargaining session is the first at a neutral site after alternating between CPS and CTU turf up to this point.

The two sides are only expected to meet for a couple hours at most before the union heads downtown for a massive rally and march outside CPS headquarters. The gathering is expected to draw thousands, including some elected officials who have supported the CTU.

One of those officials, City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, was spotted at a picket line with teachers Thursday morning after speaking at a CTU rally on Monday.

— Nader Issa

10:57 a.m. ‘There has been nothing but high energy here’

Kenwood Academy High School ended the morning with songs and a man dancing on stilts as celebration broke out into the street.

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A man on stilts participates in the teachers strike at Kenwood Academy High School.

Manny Ramos/Chicago Sun-Times

Ruben Cortez, a high school science teacher in Washington Heights, said this is his third strike in 12 years as a CPS teacher.

“There has been nothing but high energy here,” Cortez said. “Money is good but we are here for something more than that. We are here for the safety of our kids and as much as I would hope, my salary can’t do that.”

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Ruben Cortez, a high school science teacher in Washington Heights, said this is his third strike in 12 years as a CPS teacher.

Manny Ramos/Sun-Times

Cortez said his school doesn’t have a social worker and a nurse is only available once a week, though he’s not sure what day she works. Two of his students died last week, and others need longterm emotional support.

“We had a crisis worker help talk with kids for only a week, but that isn’t going to help them a month from now when they have a breakdown,” Cortez said. “We need a dedicated nurse and social worker, that is something we just need.”

While Cortez is willing to strike for as long as he needs to, he hopes it only lasts for a couple of days.

— Manny Ramos

10:49 a.m. More social workers are needed in schools, dean says

Efrain Gonzalez is the dean of students at Kelly High School. He took on the role nine years ago after spending 15 years as a bilingual teacher at the high school.

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Dean of Students at Kelly High School, Efrain Gonzalez, on the picket line.

Rick Majewski/For the Sun-Time

Gonzalez said being a dean opened his eyes to the struggles his students face outside the classroom.

“Seven times out of 10 when I have a student in the office it’s because of some form of trauma, either at home or in the neighborhood,” he said.

Gonzalez was out on the picket line Thursday to fight for more social workers at Kelly.

“We only have two full time social workers,” he said. “How can we provide a comprehensive learning environment without addressing the most fundamental needs of our students?”

— Carlos Ballesteros

10:26 a.m. ‘We’re not moving any further on money because we can’t’

After reading to students at the Lawndale Christian Health Center, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was asked whether she might have made a tactical mistake by sweetening her pay raise offer to the teachers union so early in the negotiations.

Lightfoot initially offered the CTU 14% over five years, then upped the ante to match the 16% recommended by an independent fact finder.

“We’re not moving any further on money because we can’t,” she said.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll continue discussions and that this strike will be limited in duration. But from a financial standpoint, we always have to keep in mind the taxpayers.”

The mayor noted that CPS is “just on the other side of a pretty significant crisis and we don’t have unlimited resources.”

Lightfoot entered the center through a back door to avoid chanting protesters from SEIU Local 73.

The union represents striking school support personnel.

Fran Spielman

10:12 a.m. More than a teachers strike

Dozens of SEIU 73 members — all in purple — joined the red-clad teachers, hoping the public wouldn’t forget they too were fighting for better working conditions.

Outside Christopher Elementary at 51st and Artesian — a majority special education school rumored to have one of the highest numbers of special education classroom assistants, or SECAs, in the city — Andre Henry lamented how aides like him are frequently pulled away from caring for kids to do other jobs.

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SEIU 73 members — all in purple — join red-clad teachers in striking outside Christopher Elementary.

Lauren FitzPatrick

He and his colleagues do a lot of the physical labor needed to change students.

“SECAs are supposed to exclusively work with kids,” said Henry, currently a dedicated aide working with a single student.

That’s the case at Christopher, but not throughout CPS.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand what our job is,” he said.

None of Christopher’s students had shown up as of midmorning, though its nursing staff had prepared all their paperwork for the administration in case anyone did, school nurse Karen Rose said.

But only one nurse from a private outside agency was at the school to be with any of them, Rose said, adding, “I can’t even imagine.”

Children with feeding tubes and catheters wouldn’t get their usual care at school, but still it’s a hardship for their families to keep them, fellow nurses Valeda Shaver and Francine Shelton said.

“It’s going to be very hard for them. They have to work,” Shelton said. Administrators inside “can’t give the children the care they need.”

“As long as the parents be for us, we’re not going to lose,” she said.

Lauren FitzPatrick

9:48 a.m. Mayor Lori Lightfoot visits students at YMCA contingency site

CPS preemptively canceled classes Thursday when a strike seemed imminent, notifying parents of nearly 700 designated contingency sites available to host CPS kids.

Thursday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson visited students at one such site, the McCormick YMCA at 1834 Lawndale Ave. Striking Chicago Teachers Union members from McAuliffe Elementary School rallied on the corner nearby.

With the Chicago Teachers Union on strike and classes canceled, Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited with Chicago Public Schools students at the McCormick YMCA, 1834 Lawndale Ave., Thursday morning, Oct. 17, 2019.

With the Chicago Teachers Union on strike and classes canceled, Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited Thursday with Chicago Public Schools students at the McCormick YMCA, 1834 Lawndale Ave.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson visit Thursday with students at the McCormick YMCA, 1834 Lawndale Ave.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson visit Thursday with students at the McCormick YMCA, 1834 Lawndale Ave.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Striking Chicago Teachers Union members rally on the corner as Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson leaves the McCormick YMCA at 1834 Lawndale Ave., where she and Mayor Lori Lightfoot met with CPS students, Thursday morning, Oct. 17, 2019.

Striking Chicago Teachers Union members from McAuliffe Elementary School rally on the corner as Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson leaves the McCormick YMCA at 1834 Lawndale Ave., where she and Mayor Lori Lightfoot met with CPS students, Thursday morning, Oct. 17, 2019.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Ashlee Rezin-Garcia

9:36 a.m. CTU VP Stacy Davis Gates joins striking teachers

Stacy Davis Gates, the newly elected vice president of the union, joined the picket line at National Teacher Academy to call on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to listen to what the teachers are asking for and demanded more equitable policies.

“You have a lot of school communities here in Chicago concentrated on the South and West Side that has been disinvested in for years.” Davis Gates said. “What if we lowered class sizes and talked more about equity?”

She pointed to the school rating system that negatively impacts communities of color and low income neighborhoods.

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CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates at the picket line at National Teacher Academy Thursday, Oct. 17.

John O’Neill/Sun-Times

CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates poses with striking teachers at the picket line at National Teacher Academy Thursday, Oct. 17.

CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates poses with striking teachers at the picket line at National Teacher Academy Thursday, Oct. 17.

John O’Neill/Sun-Times

— Manny Ramos

9:19 a.m. Some teachers predict a deal by Monday

Plenty of teachers weren’t willing to predict Thursday how long they expect the strike to last. Pat Grabowski wasn’t among them. Grabowski, who teaches special education at Reinberg Elementary School on the Northwest Side, has been at CPS for 30 years.

She said Mayor Lori Lightfoot, so early in her first term, has to “take care of it.”

“Otherwise she won’t get re-elected, and I think she knows it,” Grabowski said. “She’ll have a deal by Monday.”

Grabowski likes Lightfoot more than she liked former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, but: “She’s going against us, she doesn’t have our back. She keeps saying, ‘The taxpayers, the taxpayers.’ She needs to realize that teachers are taxpayers too.”

8:57 a.m. Shows of support at the picket line

Supporters of the teachers strike are visiting picket lines across the city this morning.

Kelly High School’s Youth Alive Bible Club visited their teachers at the school early Thursday — and they brought tamales.

“Tamales are great strike food,” said senior Patricia Vazquez. “They’re warm and you can eat them standing up.”

The Bible Club — which has been at the school for over 25 years — used its own funds to buy the tamales, said staff sponsor and teacher’s assistant Jose Perez.

Kelly High School’s Youth Alive Bible Club hands out tamales to striking teachers.

Kelly High School’s Youth Alive Bible Club handed out tamales to striking teachers.

Carlos Ballesteros/Sun-Times

“It was around $160, but it’s for a good cause,” Perez said.

Vazquez said her high school doesn’t have a full-time nurse and also lacks enough social workers to help students in need.

“Earlier this year there was a shooting across the street and we had a lockdown, but they didn’t have enough social workers for students to come talk about any anxiety or pain they were feeling,” she said.

“It’s not fair. We deserve better.”

Ten seconds doesn’t go by without a car honking down California Avenue and Archer Avenue in support of Kelly teachers gathered out front.

Carlos Ballesteros

At Milton Brunson Specialty School at Central and Augusta, there are also frequent honks of support for the two - three dozen picketers from commuters driving by.

One sympathizer in a black Dodge SUV just dropped off another two jugs of coffee and two dozen donuts at Brunson.

John O’Neill

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Have you been impacted by the teachers strike? What does this action mean to you? We want to hear your stories. Tweet at us at @suntimes or email ctustrike@suntimes.com to share.

8:48 a.m. Multilingual signs for multilingual students

Puliam Law is an art teacher at Kelly High School in Brighton Park. She said her students deserve a more robust education with the proper resources to succeed.

“We don’t have enough staff or classroom materials,” she said. “It’s getting better, but we can still fight for more.”

Around 15% of Kelly’s student body identifies as Asian, most of whom are Chinese. Law said her sign reads, “CPS on strike for better schools and a fair contract.”

Puliam Law, an art teacher at Kelly High School in Brighton Park, on the picket line Thursday, Oct. 17 during the Chicago teacher strike.

Puliam Law, an art teacher at Kelly High School in Brighton Park, on the picket line Thursday, Oct. 17 during the Chicago teacher strike.

Carlos Ballesteros/Chicago Sun-Times

8:17 a.m. ‘Sometimes we’ve got to teach the mayor’

From Sun-Times reporter Stefano Esposito:

8:14 a.m. Kids at the picket line

While CPS provided alternative options for students to spend the day while classes were canceled Thursday, Lane Tech AP psychology teacher David Doll brought his daughter, Penny, 4, to the picket line.

“Explaining the strike to her was a little difficult. I told her ‘everyone has piggy banks. We need more money for our piggy bank and our school needs more money for its piggy bank.’ And she was cute. She went and got her piggy bank and brought it to me.”

Lane Tech AP psychology teacher David Doll and his daughter, Penny, at the picket line at Lane Tech on Thursday, Oct. 17, as teachers trike during contract negotiations.

Lane Tech AP psychology teacher David Doll and his daughter, Penny, at the picket line at Lane Tech on Thursday, Oct. 17, as teachers trike during contract negotiations.

Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times

Jude Greiner, 18, a Lane Tech senior, walked the picket line handing out coffee, water, donuts, granola bars and crackers.

“My teachers are striking so everyone has equal resources. I hope the city understands. My school is very lucky, but every school needs a nurse and proper resources for their children.”

Jude Greiner, 18, a Lane Tech senior.

Jude Greiner, 18, a Lane Tech senior.

Mitch Dudek/Chicago Sun-Times

Grenier said her mom is in a union, and her mom supports her being out this morning.

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Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times

Strike day care: Lane Tech English teacher Betsy Serilla with her niece and son, both CPS students.

Mitch Dudek

8:01 a.m. A nurse strikes at Cather Elementary

Dujanne Evans, a sixth grade teacher at Cather Elementary, 2908 W. Washington, said she is striking for the needs of nurses and social workers in her schools.

“I have to stock up on medical supplies because we don’t have a nurse ever day,” Evans said. “I have to pay for band-aids and peroxide so of they cut themselves, but a nurse is the one who is properly trained to do that.”

Dujanne Evans, a sixth grade teacher at Cather Elementary, on the picket line outside her school on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Dujanne Evans, a sixth grade teacher at Cather Elementary, on the picket line outside her school on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Manny Ramos/Sun-Times

“I have to listen when some of my students come to me with the problems they’re facing at home, but there should be a social worker ready to intervene and we simply don’t have that.”

Evans said though the strike will make it difficult for her and her family with no income, she said its absolutely necessary.

“We are truly here for the kids,” Evans said.

Manny Ramos

7:49 a.m. Spirits are high at Lane Tech

Lane has 265 teachers and staff in the CTU, and about 40 more security and special ed classroom assistants in the SEIU who are also on strike. There could be 300 people out front of Lane Tech by the time picketers call it quits for the day at 10:30 a.m.

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Coffee and snacks for striking teachers at Lane Tech.

Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times

Spirits were high at the Roscoe Village high school Thursday morning. Lane Tech music teachers Javier Payano and Miles Comiskey jammed on guitar and drums just after 7 a.m. as teachers chanted and picketed.

Mitch Dudek

7:18 a.m. CTU President Jesse Sharkey speaks from the picket line

Teachers and support staff rallied around CTU President Jesse Sharkey outside Peirce Elementary School in Andersonville as he took the dais to voice the union’s demands.

Sharkey spoke about the union’s request for more social workers and the need for a better deal for the paraprofessionals working at schools across the city.

“Our demands are significant, and we have real demands, but that’s because the needs are significant,” Sharkey said. “We ask for a lot because we give a lot.”

“All of our schools here deal with real traumas, and we need supports,” Sharkey said.

Samuel Kelly

7:11 a.m. ‘We wanted to give the kids... some sleep’

There are a two dozen teachers spread out across Sawyer Elementary’s campus in Gage Park.

But they’re not chanting yet.

“We wanted to give the kids and their parents some time to sleep,” said Carmen Vazquez, a seventh-eighth grade special education teacher.

Sawyer is in the middle of one of Chicago’s largest immigrant communities. It has one of the largest student bodies across the district but lacks enough social workers.

“In the past we’ve had students hit by a drunk driver or be deported and their classmates weren’t able to see a social worker,” said Paula Sontag, a second grade teacher at Sawyer.

Sontag said she’s on the picket line because “students need to be treated holistically, and we’re fighting for the resources other kids in the city and in other districts get to enjoy.”

Carlos Ballesteros

6:54 a.m. Teachers arrive at their schools bearing signs and wearing CTU red

Amid chants of “Whose schools? Our schools” and “Lori Lightfoot, get on the right foot,” educators have begun to picket outside the schools where they teach.

About 50 striking teachers gathered at the major intersection of Addison and Western outside Lane Tech College Prep, beneath the school’s electronic sign. 

CPS teacher Zeljka Girardi protests.

CPS teacher Zeljka Girardi.

Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times

Zeljka Girardi, who teaches German, held a picket sign reading “On Strike for a Fair Contract.”

Cars honked frequently in support of teachers as they passed. 

“We have to do what we have to do. Our school is awesome. Our principal is awesome. I have no issue with the administration of Lane Tech. But we still need a fair contract.”

— Mitch Dudek

6:32 a.m. Live updates on CPS-CTU contract negotiations

Bargaining between the teachers union and the school district is set to resume today at a neutral location, unlike previous sessions that alternated between CPS and CTU turf. Officials from CPS and CTU, mostly educators at some point of their careers, will return to the bargaining table to continue talks that began in January.

With no agreement in sight, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson are not yet expected to join them. Wednesday morning, Lightfoot and Jackson took the unusual step of preemptively canceling classes Thursday morning for all CPS students.

At 1:30 p.m., the CTU plans to rally outside CPS headquarters at 42 W. Madison.

Follow our coverage here for the latest on contract negotiations.

6:02 a.m. Contingency plans for CPS students

As teachers across Chicago prepare to head to the picket line instead of their classrooms, CPS school buildings will be opening on time to house displaced students, including those who don’t regularly attend, but may live nearby. Principals and non-union staff will be on site providing breakfast and lunch to students and coordinating “engaging activities” to occupy the time.

In addition to CPS buildings, all Chicago Public Libraries will accept students, as will 18 parks, designated “Safe Haven” sites, and other community partner sites.

Click here to search the full list of contingency sites using the site locator map.

4:30 a.m. Chicago Teachers Union on strike

The Chicago Teachers Union is on strike Thursday after failing to reach a deal with Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Lori Lightfoot by last night’s deadline. Teachers are expected to be picketing at their schools starting around 6:30 a.m. today.

Lightfoot and schools chief Janice Jackson announced Wednesday that all Chicago Public Schools classes would be canceled ahead of the strike. CPS has established a contingency plan for parents outlining alternative options for students, which include libraries, parks, community centers, and other sites that are staffed to supervise children while schools are closed.

CPS school buildings will be open at their usual times, and principals and non-union staff will be on site providing breakfast and lunch to students and coordinating “engaging activities” to occupy the time. Students can attend any CPS school that is appropriate for their age, even if it’s not their usual school.

Follow the @suntimes on Twitter, as well as these Sun-Times reporters covering the strike Thursday, for live updates:

@bylaurenfitz
@NaderDIssa
@_ManuelRamos_
@ballesteros312
@MitchDudek
@slesposito
@MHendricksonCST
@TomSchuba

— Chicago Sun-Times Staff

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