WHEREAS, the city and the Chicago Teachers Union have been at loggerheads for months over a new contract; and

WHEREAS, Chicago’s schools are facing a budget deficit of an estimated $500 million in the 2016 budget; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said that if the state fails to provide enough money to fill that budget hole, he will balance his budget by laying off thousands of school employees; and

WHEREAS, in response to this latest threat and the stalemate over negotiations, the Chicago Teachers Union announced on Dec. 14 that 88 percent of the eligible membership had voted to authorize a strike; and

WHEREAS, the Chicago Teachers Union has urged the mayor and his administration not to balance the budget in a manner that will hurt the 400,000 children enrolled in the Chicago public schools; and

WHEREAS, last week, the Chicago Teachers Union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the state with regard to negotiations, calling for fact-finding to begin; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the United Federation of Teachers throws its full support behind its sister union, the Chicago Teachers Union; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the United Federation of Teachers will stand in unity with this AFT local and any others engaged in the critical struggle to advocate for students and their families, for citizens and their communities, for patients and healthcare, and for our own existence as organized labor.