CTU files unfair labor practice complaint against Chicago Public Schools following decision to lift mask mandate
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Teachers Union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the state of Illinois over the Chicago Public Schools' decision to end its mask mandate next week.
Chicago Public Schools on Monday announced the decision to lift the mask mandate for all students and staff, shifting to a mask optional plan beginning March 14.
CTU called the move a "clear violation" of the district's COVID-19 safety agreement with the union, which requires masks in schools through late August.
The January safety agreement does not specifically mention mask-wearing. But union leaders say it doesn't have to - because terms of a February 2021 safety agreement are still in effect.
That agreement states, "All persons entering a CPS facility are required to wear a face mask."
The union says the decision to lift the mask mandate should have been negotiated, and is asking the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to require CPS to bargain with CTU before implementing any changes to the mask mandate.
The union said, while it's fortunate that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are low in Chicago, vaccination rates remain low at many schools, especially those in communities with largely Black and Latino populations on the South and West sides.
"Students of color and their communities are particularly vulnerable as only 25 percent of all CPS schools have more than half of students fully vaccinated. Pre-kindergarten students, who are not yet eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines, are also particularly vulnerable," the union said.
The union also accused Lightfoot of caving in to attorney Thomas Devore, who has filed multiple lawsuits challenging various COVID-19 mitigations put in place by Gov. JB Pritzker and others, and is running as a Republican for Illinois attorney general. While most of those lawsuits have failed, a downstate judge last month halted enforcement of Gov. JB Pritzker's school mask mandate at nearly 170 school districts across the state, issuing a temporary restraining order Devore had sought. While Pritzker later lifted the statewide school mask mandate, and the Illinois Supreme Court vacated the restraining order in that case, Devore is now asking the same downstate judge who ruled in his favor to block the CPS mask mandate that is currently in effect.
"Today's move by Mayor Lightfoot and CPS not only violates the Union's agreement with the district, it ignores the impact that COVID-19 has on communities of color," the CTU said Monday. "The mayor has instead prioritized the wishes of Tom Devore - an opportunistic, right-wing extremist hundreds of miles away from Chicago - over the wishes of the people of our city. She has prioritized the needs of Mt. Greenwood over the needs of Englewood, Roseland, Little Village, North Lawndale and Brighton Park," CTU officials wrote in a press release. "Chicago Public Schools has gone from mayoral control to Devore control, as the downstate swindler calls the shots, the mayor capitulates and CPS falls in line."
CBS 2's Marie Saavedra asked Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates Tuesday if teachers will still be in class on Monday. Gates said the point was pandemic safety - and called Devore a "freakshow."
"The concerns have to be more than, 'A re teachers going to walk out?'" she said. "The concern needs to be, how are we going to maintain safety in our school communities since the school district and the mayor have said they're going to take the face mask off because some freakshow from downstate Illinois doesn't want a mask on kids in Chicago."
Gates said the CPS parents' focus should be on protecting school communities from COVID-19.
"What are we telling CPS parents? That they have more to worry about than teachers walking out. The mask is the easiest safety mitigation that we have in our arsenal in our school communities. When you take that away, then parents need to ask the following question - what does ventilation look like in our school communities? What does the cleanliness look like in our school communities? What does social distancing look like in our school communities?"
Mayor Lightfoot late Monday tweeted out a letter to CTU president Jesse Sharkey, saying among other things that discussions the mask policy and all COVID-19 mitigation measures were based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Illinois Department of Public Health. The mayor wrote that those recommendations have changed, and so should the agreement.
Mayor Lightfoot's letter also said the move will allow CPS to maintain decision-making authority, should a judge rule in favor of a lawsuit seeking a court order to end the district's mask mandate.
According to CPS, 64% of students age 12-17 have had at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to a 68% nationwide vaccination rate for that age group. The district also said kids age 5-11 at CPS have had at least one dose of the vaccine, well ahead of the national average of 33% for that age group.
More than 91% of CPS staff have been fully vaccinated, according to CPS.
However, in its unfair labor practice complaint, the union said the pandemic is still not over, and there is a risk there could be another surge in cases.
"Experts are certain that other Covid variants will emerge and cause renewed surges in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Moreover, it is well documented that the recent delta and omicron variants caused many infections in vaccinated individuals and that it is important to maintain other layers of protection to stop the spread of the disease," the union wrote. "There is considerable evidence that the Covid virus spreads easily in school settings, especially if the individuals in those settings are not masked."
It could take weeks or months for the Education Labor Relations Board to hear the issue - unless the union wants to ask for expedited consideration.
Not all parents are happy about making masks optional at CPS. Tuesday morning, several parents held a virtual press conference, saying CPS isn't listening to the entire community about what's needed in schools.
"This is about life or death, and we need to stand up just as strong as everyone else, even if we don't feel like it impacts us personally," said parent Laurie Viets
"They are not listening to the communities that have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19; and the parents, students, and teachers that have experienced trauma from this pandemic," said parent Ana Santoyo.
"We are still in a pandemic. A pandemic does not go away just because you want it to, just because you're tired of it," said parent Bridgett White.
"Safety is a priority for everyone in that building. We no longer need disruptions," said parent Michelle Bautista.
Several parent and community groups are urging CPS to let families request a remote learning option if they're concerned about maskless classrooms.