Chicago Teachers’ Strike Ends – The New York Times, The New York Times

CHICAGO – Thousands of Chicago’s public-school teachers will return to classrooms on Friday, ending a strike that left more than 300, 000 students out of school for 11 days, the city’s mayor announced on Thursday .

A tentative contract deal between city officials and teachers in the nation’s third-largest school district resolved a tense standoff that had upended the lives of families all over the city and represented th ebiggest test to date of Chicago’s new mayor, Lori Lightfoot.

The walkout by the Chicago Teachers Union, which lasted longer than any schools strike in this city since 1987, was over an array of issues, beyond traditional questions over pay. The teachers called formore social workers, librarians and nurses in schools, smaller class sizes and protections for immigrant children. Over the last few weeks, teachers marched near schools and through the city’s downtown business district, as negotiations went on with city leaders.

In the end, the city said it had agreed to $ 35 million to reduce class sizes and hundreds of additional staff members by 2023. The city’s offer included a 16 percent salary increase over five years.

During the strike, parents scrambled to find child care, some paying for impromptu day camps, while others stayed home from work to care for their children. School buildings remained open during the strike for children without other options. SeveralDemocratic presidential candidatesoffered support for the teachers, and Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke to teachers on the picket line.

Lightfoot, who was elected earlier this year, the strike provided a test of her leadership in a city where labor unions have broad support but where severe fiscal challenges have been a perpetual concern.

Ms. Lightfoot, who carried all 50 wards in April’s election, had campaigned on promises to address longstanding inequities in the city and to hire more school nurses and librarians. But she said she was constrained on what she could offer in the contract by the school district’s precarious financial position.

The strike, which was the first multiday work stoppage by Chicago Public Schools teachers since 2012, was the latest in a string of more than a dozen major walkouts by teachers across the country. Since early last year, walkouts have taken place in conservative states like Oklahoma and West Virginia, as well as in liberal cities like Denver and Los Angeles.