CPS board president joins contract talks with teachers union

Chicago School Board President David Vitale sat in on contract talks with the teachers union for the first time Thursday and expressed optimism that a strike can be avoided.

"I think we've actually made a lot of progress and I think we're getting really close, even on thorny issues," he said. "I think absolutely a deal can be made."

Negotiations started at 10 a.m. and went into the evening, days before Monday's strike date set by the Chicago Teachers Union. Talks will resume Friday and go through the weekend if necessary.

Vitale said he did not think Mayor Rahm Emanuel will have to come to the table to get a deal done.

"My best bet, we will get to an agreement without getting him engaged," Vitale said. "My best judgment is that won't be necessary."

Union officials were not available Thursday, but a day earlier they offered a mixed assessment. While the union said the two sides remained far apart on crucial issues, CTU President Karen Lewis said she was "very optimistic" that a contract could be resolved and a strike avoided.

Even while making a final push to avoid a strike, the two sides continued to pitch their cases to the public, both insisting they are working in the interests of the city's schoolchildren.

In a radio ad that aired citywide Thursday, Lewis asked listeners to call schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard to demand a fair contract for teachers.

"This isn't about the money," Lewis says in the ad. "We all know that teachers should be paid for the work we do, especially when it's longer and harder. We're fighting for art, music, physical education and world language classes for the 400,000 plus schoolkids who depend on us."

On Thursday, CPS released additional information on its strike contingency plan, which it has dubbed "Children First." District officials made a point of laying the blame on teachers for a possible strike.

"If the leadership of the CTU chooses to strike, no one will be hurt more than our students, and we are prepared to offer a safety net for families who are not able to access alternative options for their students," Brizard said in a news release. The union sent an alert to its members Thursday, telling teachers not to construct lesson plans for Monday and to "hide" all their supplies and teaching materials. CTU spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin said teachers were being told to secure or take with them items that belonged to them.

CPS held a town hall meeting by phone Thursday evening to go over the district's strike plan that was "attended" by 35,000 people, according to the district. Parents also will get text messages and automated calls through the weekend. On Friday the district planned to hand out fliers at CTA stops around the city.

The 60 faith-based organizations that are part of the district's contingency plan all operate CPS-sponsored camps during the summer, spring and winter breaks. Those churches would be paid through the $25 million set aside for the contingency plan.

A group of pastors held a news conference Thursday to say about 40 additional churches would take in children during the strike, even though they don't get CPS funding.

"Today, Chicago is on the borderline of being a national embarrassment," said the Rev. Cy Fields, senior pastor of New Landmark Missionary Baptist Church. "We're now telling the whole nation we may have a problem educating our children."

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy also weighed in, saying the Police Department is working with CPS to ensure that problems don't arise. Police also will reinstate some summer patrol patterns, he said.

"We do have some concerns, and we're working with CPS to ensure that rival gang members are not put into the same places," McCarthy said. "So we're working very hard to identify where those gaps might exist and fill them."

Vitale, who was involved in teacher contract talks in 2003 and 2007, said he listened to the union's position, expressed the board's point of view and also discussed district concerns over the anxiety of parents.

Union officials said earlier this week that the district is still offering a 2 percent raise for teachers in each of the next four years. CPS has abandoned merit pay for teachers and is keeping language in the contract for annual step increases for experience.

The union on Wednesday filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, accusing the district of "unlawfully" imposing restrictions on teachers who are currently working without a contract.

The filing allows the union to strike not only over an economic dispute but also over "unfair labor practices."

That's an important distinction, because an unfair labor practice strike could prohibit CPS from hiring permanent teachers to replace those who have walked out, union officials said. Once a new contract is reached and teachers return to the classroom, it also could allow the CTU to seek back wages for those employees who participated in the strike, said Michael LeRoy, a labor relations professor at the University of Illinois.

Tribune reporter Naomi Nix contributed.

nahmed@tribune.com

jhood@tribune.com

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-cps-teacher-talks-0907-20120907,0,1391117.story?track=rss

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