Chicago teachers strike continues--but is it legal?

The Chicago Teachers Union strike will continue into Wednesday. The union bosses say that money is not the issue--they've turned their noses up on a deal that includes a 16 percent raise. But the CTU big shots may want to say their struggle really is about the cash.

Chuck Goudie of ABC 7 Chicago explains:

There is a new state law in place that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says bans teachers from striking for anything other than compensation. Emanuel says the two issues remaining on the table have nothing to do with that, raising the question: is this a legal strike?

Mayor Emanuel has repeatedly made the statement that the teachers union is conducting a strike of choice, and that teachers are striking over two items that are not subject to a job action under current Illinois law.

Emanuel says the law states teachers may strike only because of compensation, and according to the mayor, neither of the disputed contract items involve pay or benefits.

"We've asked them to postpone this so we can work out the other issues given how close we are," said Mayor Emanuel. "And the issues are not financial."

Also, I mentioned this earlier this evening, but the "For the Kids" teachers--thousands of them--disrupted Chicago's downtown rush hour again. Advice to the CTU: Don't piss off your constituents, the taxpayers.

Technorati tags: education labor unions politics news Illinois chicago illinois politics chicago politics chicago teachers union illinois politics left wing extremists current events