Pros And Cons Of Chicago Teachers Union

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On September 2012, the Chicago teacher’s union began its first strike. The Chicago Teachers Union is a labor union which represents public school teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians in the Chicago Board of Education. The union negotiated contracts for improved pay, benefits, and job security for public school teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians Contract negotiations between the Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago teacher’s union began November 2011 following the expiration of a previous five-year agreement. Prior to the proposal which sparked the strike teachers were working without a contract. On September 11, 2012 to come to a new agreement the Chicago Board of Education proposed a reasonable deal to avoid the potential strike, but the deal was turned downed resulting in an immediate strike which lasted ten …show more content…

Having passed a house bill prior to meeting to negotiation gave the m the upper hand restricting proposal which could be made by the union. Prolonging the negotiations gave them time to formulate a plan which could easily trump all request made by the union. The Chicago union negotiation tactics were juvenile and warranted legal action in my opinion. After receiving the proposal from the board of education an extension should have been requested so that they could evaluate the pros and cons and formulate a new tactic. The strike was a desperate move. I would compare it to a child throwing a tantrum after not getting their way. It inconvenienced thousands of students, denying them an education. The Board of education was forced to compromise to restore stability within the community. If I were in this situation and had the responsibility of deciding which action to take a strike would be last resort. Instead I would use force to resolve dispute in a court setting, so that I could also address the senate bill which hindered by ability to negotiate