Eight-Day Chicago Teachers Strike Comes to An End

On Wednesday, 350,000 Chicago school children returned to school after an eight-day teachers strike ended. The strike, which was the first teachers strike in the city in 25 years and included almost 30,000 teachers, was held in part for a 35-percent pay raise.

The Chicago Teachers Union voted to suspend the strike after Chicago Public Schools compromised with the teachers for an average raise of 17.6 percent over the course of four years. The strike's end came after accusations were traded between the union and Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, who was rumored to be considering a court injunction to end the strike.

However, along with the pay raise comes an increase in working time for teachers. The school day and the school year will be extended, adding more than two more years of school time for students who start school next year. Some members of the Chicago Teachers Union, including those in leadership positions, are unhappy with the pay-raise compromise.

The teachers also got what they asked for when the school board revised a merit pay program that would have been mostly based on student's test scores. Chicago Public Schools will still take students' test scores into account when determining teachers' pay, but the scores will only make up 30 percent or less of the sum of the expectations examined. Originally, the district wanted to base 45 percent of the system on student scores.

Chicago teachers also walked away with an increase in health insurance. However, the union was not successful in gaining more attention for laid off teachers as the look for employment.

Mayor Emmanuel called the compromise between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago public schools an "honest compromise" and said, "This is in the best interest of our students, who need the very best teachers. It is in the best interest of our teachers, who always strive to achieve the best results they can for their students and want to develop as professionals, as every professional does." (source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html)

The eight-day strike, which began on September 10, had a large impact on the city. Hundreds of thousands of children were left without a classroom, and parents had to find alternative supervision for their children or stay home from work. Some sites were hosted by the Chicago School district, which provided half-day care for children. Many other students found themselves in community centers and churches were employees and volunteers provided childcare.

Rachel Cool is an avid blogger and writer for ScholarshipScouts.org – a comprehensive database that contains an ever-growing list of scholarships for college students.