Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard raised the stakes last week in their effort to add 90 minutes to Chicago’s school day by offering financial incentives to all elementary schools that adopt the plan, even as negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union stalled.
Furious union officials accused the Chicago school system of using “emotional blackmail” against teachers at four elementary schools that approved the contract waivers. The union filed a labor grievance, hoping to nullify the votes.
The district and the union are in the middle of negotiations. The union recently rejected Brizard’s offer to exchange bonuses for a longer school day, and neither side has asked to schedule new negotiating sessions.
