CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago teachers and officials of the nation's third-largest school district were locked in negotiations with just hours to go before a midnight deadline for a strike over Mayor Rahm Emanuel's demand for sweeping school reforms.
The Chicago Teachers Union scheduled a 10 p.m. local time news conference to give an update on the bitter and protracted talks but gave no hint if a deal was close.
The uncertainty has left parents scrambling to make alternative arrangements for 350,000 children if school is called off on Monday.
"It's not fair to the kids," said Alison Lange, who has two children in a magnet elementary school on Chicago's north side and who says she supports the teachers in the standoff.
"They (the children) should go to bed tonight knowing if they're going to school tomorrow."
With just a few hours to go before the midnight deadline for a new contract set by the teachers, there was no sign of activity at strike headquarters set up by the union.
On Saturday, a steady stream of union members were picking up strike signs and solidarity t-shirts at the facility to prepare for a walkout.
A strike Monday would set up a historic confrontation between Emanuel, President Barack Obama's former top White House aide, and organized labor in the president's home city.
Community leaders have begged both sides to come to an agreement and keep children in school.
"We can't afford to have young people in harm's way," said Cy Fields, senior pastor of New Landmark Missionary Baptist Church, located in a violence-torn community.
A protracted stoppage could hurt relations between Obama's Democrats and national labor unions, who are among the biggest financial supporters of the Democratic Party and will be needed by the party to help get out the vote in the November 6 election.
While Emanuel has not attended the talks, he and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis have clashed. She has accused him of being a bully and using profanity in private meetings.
Lewis said on Saturday night that while the district's position had improved, she would not call it "dramatically improved." At issue are teacher pay and school reforms including tougher teacher evaluations, which are at the heart of the national debate over improving struggling urban schools.
'A LOT AT STAKE'
Both sides in Chicago agree the city's public schools need fixing. Chicago fourth-grade and eighth-grade students lag national averages in a key test of reading ability, according to the U.S. Department of Education. One union complaint is that class sizes are far too big.
Emanuel, who has a reputation as a tough negotiator, is demanding that teacher evaluations be tied to standardized test results, a move the union is resisting. He has also pushed through a longer school day this year.
Only about 60 percent of high school students in Chicago graduate, compared with a national average of 75 percent and more than 90 percent in some affluent Chicago suburbs.
More than 80 percent of the 402,000 students in Chicago public schools qualify for free lunches because they are from low-income families.
The Chicago Public Schools say they have little room to maneuver on salary, with both the state and the city in dire financial straits. The district has a projected $3 billion deficit over the next three years and faces a crushing burden of pensions promised to retiring teachers.
The Chicago School Board took back a scheduled 4 percent pay raise for teachers last year because of budget problems. Emanuel is offering a 2 percent pay increase annually over the next four years. The union wants the rescinded raise restored, plus higher annual increases.
Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the teachers union, said on Saturday his own two children were attending Chicago Public Schools. He expressed hope the conflict would be resolved without a strike.
"My young one just started kindergarten four days ago, and so there's a lot at stake for all of us," Sharkey said.
(Reporting by James B. and Mary Wisniewski; editing by Greg McCune and Todd Eastham)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-teachers-still-negotiating-hours-strike-deadline-003920042.html
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