Ninety percent of Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members reportedly vowed to strike if the Chicago Public School District returned teachers and students to in-person learning after winter break, according to polling data from the union.
Union members were asked to complete a survey titled “Possible Actions for Safety January 2022” by Dec. 27 in the lead-up to a Dec. 28 Zoom meeting. The survey results uncovered that 89% of CTU members said they would participate in “remote-work action,” or a strike against in-person work, according to results obtained by a school choice advocate who attended the union’s Zoom meeting.
A separate members-only poll was taken during the Zoom meeting. It reportedly found that 91% of members who attended the virtual meeting supported “remote-work action.”
BREAKING: 91% of Chicago Teachers Union members who responded to their internal poll tonight said they would participate in a “remote-work action” after winter break.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) December 29, 2021
Members were also asked whether they felt their schools offered staff access to adequate testing during the online meeting. Fifty-nine percent of meeting participants responded “yes.” (RELATED: Chicago Teachers Union Asks Members Whether They Support ‘District-Wide Pause’ Amid Omicron Surge)
The union claims that the shift to remote learning is due to a spike in positive cases of the Omicron variant. The survey states that it is “imperative” that the union return with an action plan to ensure “school communities’ and our own safety.”
CTU member Phillip Cantor, who teaches science and advanced placement psychology at North-Grand High School, called on the district to supply students and teachers with KN-95 masks. Cantor also purports to be a “teacher for social justice.”
“If we want to open schools in 2022, [Chicago Public Schools] needs to supply students and teachers with kn95 masks as well as universal testing,” Cantor said. “Students and their families should also be able to get vaccinated and boosted at school sites.”
If we want to open schools in 2022 @ChiPubSchools needs to supply students and teachers with kn95 masks as well as universal testing. Students and their families should also be able to get vaccinated and boosted at school sites. @CTULocal1 #ScienceButNotRocketScience
— phillip cantor (@phillipcantor) December 28, 2021
Chicago Public Schools and the city of Chicago spent more than $100 million on masks, ventilators, personal protective equipment, and other classroom safety measures, according to ABC News.
The Chicago Teachers Union did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.