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Chris J. Karr's avatar

I haven't had a chance to chat with any fellow Chicagoans with kids in school, but I strongly suspect that the teachers are well overplaying their hand, and this won't end well for them.

That said, the political leaders and administration are handling it well:

"The district's CEO, Pedro Martinez, said during an address Tuesday that even if classes are canceled, schools will remain open for families. He noted, however, no decisions will be made until the union votes later Tuesday evening."

"'I will have to cancel classes [Wednesday],' he said. 'It doesn't mean that the schools will be closed. The schools will be open, but I will have to cancel classes tomorrow because I can't... I have to be responsible in knowing who's going to be showing up to the buildings. And then, we will have a plan specifically for parents that will come out tomorrow in a very timely fashion about what the path forward is.'"

Martinez is doing a VERY smart thing here positioning the school administration on the side of children and parents by keeping the schools open for students (a BIG deal if you need child care in order to go to work), and effectively calling the union's bluff that conditions are unsafe.

Also, in a past post, I requested for ongoing data-based follow-ups on the severity of the Omicron wave, and thank you Steve for continuing to provide that.

[1] https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/cps-says-if-teachers-vote-for-remote-learning-classes-will-be-canceled-wednesday/2720927/

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Curtis Stinespring's avatar

The flexing you speak of is typical - particularly for public sector unions. I became a fan of scabs when my company assigned administrative and engineering personnel to do the work of striking employees. The engineers cleaned up the backlog of plant maintenance work in about two weeks before the union electricians and mechanics saw the light and returned to work.

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