WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The Chicago Teachers Union kicked off what it says will be a week of informational picketing, while Chicago Public Schools began ramping up preparations for a potential teachers strike.

Last week, the Chicago Teachers Union decided they were allowed to strike, in an attempt to push Chicago Public Schools administration to negotiate with them over longer school days and pay. Comedian Ed Flynn knows you might not understand how this situation became so heated. And as a self-described "uneducated" individual, he wants to clear up any confusion. 

For many students, a suspension can mean the end of their educational career. One Chicago group is trying to change that.

So far, negotiations have focused on issues related to compensation, like wages and benefits. But the union hopes that the strike authorization vote will push CPS to negotiate on other issues related to working conditions, like class size.  Under state law, the district gets to decide whether or not such issues are “permissive subjects of bargaining.”

As the Chicago Teachers Union tallies a vote that could lead to a strike, some balloting Saturday by the school district’s second-largest union could affect the CTU’s bargaining strength.

Chicago Public Schools has reached a tentative contract agreement with its second largest union.The school system announced early Monday that it's negotiated a three-year contract with the Service Employees International Union Local 73.

Despite giving prohibited gifts to a Chicago Public Schools official, the district has renewed the contracts of its two largest food vendors.The district announced Monday it is renewing the contracts of Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality and Preferred Meal Systems.Schools spokeswoman Marielle Sainvilus