By Lindsey Burke of Heritage Foundation -
In 1971, the Supreme Court upheld a 1955 law making it illegal for federal employees to strike against the U.S. government. So, when members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization union went on strike in August 1981, demanding a $10,000 a year bump in pay and a reduction in the workweek from 40 hours to 32, President Ronald Reagan handed them their walking papers—11,000 of them.
It was a decisive action that needed to be taken to ensure the airline industry could continue to serve its customers safely—and to safeguard the American economy.
On Sunday, the Chicago Teachers Union voted not to have teachers return to the classroom as they were set to do on Monday. Families were eager to see teachers head back to the classroom, but the union defied Chicago Public Schools’ plan to reopen.
Chicago Public Schools—the third-largest school district in the country—has been closed to in-person instruction since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March. For all of those 10 months, the more than 355,000 students in the public school district have not had access to in-person instruction.
Parents have good reason to be dissatisfied with the virtual offerings: Even by late summer, nearly half of the district’s elementary school teachers were not even logging on to the online learning platforms three times a week.
The district has argued the unions’ refusal to have teachers report for in-person work is tantamount to a strike, which violates the collective-bargaining agreement they have with Chicago Public Schools.
As Reagan had previously said of teachers unions, “They insist on the right to strike and tenure at the same time. How can you do this?”
Students in Chicago aren’t the only ones who have been denied in-person instruction for 10 months. Los Angeles Public Schools, the second-largest school district in the country, has yet to open its doors. New York City Public Schools, the largest school district in America, have reopened intermittently over the past several months, creating significant uncertainty for parents and students with conflicting official statements day to day.
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