The Chicago Teachers Union said Monday that its members voted overwhelmingly to support a strike in a practice vote taken last week — but acknowledged that members were responding to a ballot that did not directly address a walkout.
The word “strike” did not appear on the ballot distributed to the union’s members for what CTU characterized in a news release last week as an “official ‘practice’ strike vote.”
Union members were asked to check “Yes” or “No” to four questions, two of which also served as political statements about Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool.
The other questions addressed the union’s take on the board’s position at the bargaining table and a litany of union contract demands.
CTU officials said an analysis of responses from the Nov. 5 vote led them to conclude that “97 percent of CTU’s members say they will vote to authorize a strike, if needed.”
CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said the polling strategy was the same one used in the runup to the 2012 teachers’ strike.
“In a nutshell, our legal counsel advised us to stay away from the word ‘strike’ in the practice poll, which is why we called it a ‘practice,’ ” Sharkey said.
“The law keeps us from asking questions twice, so what we do is we ask a series of questions that cover the four corners of our bargaining proposals,” he said. “Really what we’re saying is we’re trying to stake out the four corners of our bargaining positions and check the sentiment of that in our schools.”
CTU made fresh strike threats last week after Claypool used a Tribune op-ed piece to repeat warnings of “drastic cuts” without help from state lawmakers.
“We have to use what works for us, which is ultimately withholding our labor,” union President Karen Lewis said during a news conference last week. “Do they think we’re bluffing?”
The union’s contract expired this summer, and the two sides weeks ago enlisted the help of a mediator in talks over a new pact, one step in a long process required before a strike.
Under state law, the union would have to call a strike authorization vote and get approval from 75 percent of its total membership before going on strike.
“No decision has been made as to when or if that vote will occur,” CTU spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin told reporters, adding the union was still awaiting a final analysis of its polling numbers.
If an actual strike vote occurs, Sharkey said, CTU members will be presented with a more straightforward question.
“The word ‘strike’ will appear in it, and it will be a simple question,” he said.
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