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Tuesday, Sep 18, 2012 7:50 PM UTC

Chicago teachers’ strike in pictures

Teachers Union delegates will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to end a seven-day strike

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Topics: Chicago Teachers Strike, Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, Unions, Teachers, Teachers Unions, Education, ,

Chicago teachers' strike in picturesStriking Chicago school teachers march after a rally Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 in Chicago. Thousands of striking Chicago public school teachers and their allies packed a city park Saturday in a boisterous show of force as union leaders and the district tried to work out the details of an agreement that could end a week-long walkout.(AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)(Credit: AP)

After a week on strike, delegates from the Chicago Teachers Union will meet today to consider a compromise deal and potentially go back to the classrooms. The strike, which began last Monday, pits thousands of teachers against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s sweeping education reform plans. As the New York Times reported Tuesday:

Though a tentative settlement was reached between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools negotiators, it is anyone’s call whether the deal will be accepted Tuesday afternoon by union delegates who chose not to do so when they were first presented with the plan on Sunday night.

This slide show takes you through the strike so far.

Chicago teachers' strike so far

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  • Before the Chicago Teachers Union went on strike on Monday, September 10, union members prepared protest signage at their headquarters.

    Preparing to strike

  • On Monday, September 10, just under 30,000 teachers went on strike when a deal could not be reached over a bitter contract dispute. The teachers are resisting Mayor Rahm Emanuel's demand for sweeping education reforms, which promote the closure of poorly performing schools in favor of charter schools.

    Out of the classrooms, into the streets

  • On Monday Sept. 10 Parents dropped their children off at Benjamin E. Mays Academy, one of the few schools open for a half day during the first day of the Chicago teachers strike.

    All most all Chicago public schools closed

  • The strike's second day once again saw thousands of red-clad strikers rally outside the Chicago Board of Education district office.

    Chicago Board of Education targeted

  • Freelance journalist and writer, Ryan L. Williams, who captured this striking Cookie Monster on the third strike day told Salon, "There's been an increasing amount of pageantry at these things since OWS [Occupy Wall Street], and it's one of my favorite subjects." (© Ryan L Williams, used with permission.)

    Occupy-style pageantry

  • After a full school week on strike, union members attempted on Sunday to agree to a compromise deal and end the strike. Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, pictured above, announced after the Sunday meeting that a clear majority of delegates rejected the compromise and wanted to continue the strike.

    Delegates say "no deal" to compromise on Sunday

  • On Monday Sept. 17, Emanuel's city attorneys asked a Cook County Circuit Court judge for an injunction that would force teachers back into the classroom. The Associated Press reported, "Judge Peter Flynn did not grant the city an immediate hearing, instead scheduling one for Wednesday morning... That would be a day after Chicago Teachers Union delegates are scheduled to vote again on whether to suspend the strike." The CTU called the mayor's move a "vindictive," undemocratic act.

    Emanuel goes to court

  • The meeting scheduled for Tuesday Sept 18 will be the second attempt by the union membership to try to get approval from delegates for the compromise deal, which calls for an average 17.6 percent raise for teachers over four years and some benefit improvements. Striking teachers have stressed that their action is not just about salary contracts, but constitutes a protest against a neo-liberal education reform program. (© Ryan L Williams, used with permission) © Ryan L Williams, used with permission

    Vote scheduled for today

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Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com. More Natasha Lennard.

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