On Monday, February 1, some parents of Chicago public school students staged a sick-out. Using #CPSSICKOUT on social media, they acted in the hope that taking their children out of online learnings would raise awareness of their difficult position as the future of the city’s schools remains uncertain.

In the lead-up to Monday morning, the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) had been increasingly backed into a corner by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) over the city’s reopening plan. CPS, led by the city’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, is determined to reopen schools, and had scheduled the reopening to begin Monday. But CTU says the plan is inadequate, and that many teachers won’t reenter facilities until the city addresses their health and safety concerns.

Last week, the distance between the sides raised the possibility of a strike. CTU’s House of Delegates voted to refuse to return to in-person work, and the overwhelming majority of the union’s membership agreed with the resolution. Lightfoot responded that such a refusal would be met with a lockout from online learning for teachers. Should that happen, CTU says they’ll have no choice but to strike. As Jesse Sharkey, the union’s president, put it, “only the mayor can force a strike, and if it comes to that, that’s her choice. We choose safety.”