The Chicago Teachers Union is dropping off petitions signed by thousands of educators in support of their “five must haves” in the new teachers contract, in an effort to avoid a strike

Chicago teachers are taking action on Tuesday and joining a national movement demanding better funding and protections for public schools. Educators will gather at schools across the city at 7 a.m. to demand a new contract. Rallies are scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

The Chicago Teachers Union plans to submit the five “sticking points” preventing them from settling on a new contract to the school board.

For months, the school board has faced questions about how it will pay for ongoing labor negotiations and a pension cost the city has demanded.

The union says the petitions will show they have strong member support to keep pushing on five key issues. Contract negotiations have been going on for nearly a year.

More than 20,000 teachers have been working without a contract for eight months as the CTU-backed mayor refuses to accept even the most modest wage and staffing demands of educators.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson secured approval for his $830 million borrowing plan but can no longer use the money to benefit his cronies at the Chicago Teachers Union. The city just grew its nearly $41 billion in debt.

Mayor Brandon Johnson asked to borrow $830 million one day after the city’s credit rating dipping to near-junk status. He would have broad discretion over how to spend the money – including on his friends at the Chicago Teachers Union.

The Chicago Teachers Union is turning up the pressure as leaders say the ongoing contract fight needs to end and fast.

Of seven Acero charter school campuses that had been targeted for closure by the network, five will remain open for the 2025-26 school year after a Board of Education vote.

Mayor Brandon Johnson argued that Chicago’s policies made the city safer and allowed residents to help the police solve crimes without fear of deportation.