The fact that the fight revolves around Emanuel, a larger-than-life Democrat and former chief of staff to President Obama, has pushed the municipal labor fight into prime time, complicated the political calculus and elevated the stakes. Emanuel has taken a lead role in garnering support for Obama, who is relying heavily on the support of unions in his reelection bid.
It is also the boldest confrontation yet by one of a growing number of Democratic mayors who have been pressuring unions to accept reforms in cities such as Boston, Cleveland and Los Angeles, creating a schism between the Democrats and a traditional ally.
“It’s not just about the negotiations in Chicago,” said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. “Because of the visibility of the mayor, this is an important stand for the union. They’re trying to send a message nationally about what teacher unions are going to tolerate from Democratic mayors.”
About 26,000 teachers and paraprofessionals picketed in red T-shirts outside empty Chicago schools while nearly 400,000 children were left with nothing to do Monday. Scores of churches, community centers and parks welcomed children who needed a safe place to spend the day while the adults continued to try to find agreement at a negotiating table downtown.
The tension in Chicago began before Emanuel was elected, when he promised on the campaign trail to add 90 minutes to the school day and extend the school year. Chicago, the country’s third-largest public school system, has one of the shortest school days of any urban district.
Union leaders argued that Emanuel could not extend their workday by 20 percent without increasing pay. When he took office last year, Emanuel found the school district facing a $700 million budget shortfall and he rescinded 4 percent raises for teachers. Emanuel offered bonuses for teachers and schools that waived the contract and adopted a longer school day; the union challenged the move before the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.
Emanuel successfully pushed a change to state law that made it harder for the teachers to strike; union members responded by overwhelmingly meeting the new hurdles to authorize a strike. Emanuel and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis reportedly got into heated exchanges during private meetings. And things went downhill from there.
Still, Chicago Public School officials said they were taken aback by the strike because they felt they had been making headway in discussions with the teachers union.