In labor and education news, the Chicago Teachers Union and the country’s third-largest school district remain at an impasse over a return to in-person teaching, as teachers consider a possible strike over demands for safe working conditions during the pandemic. The teachers union and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who is pushing to reopen schools, traded barbs Thursday, with the mayor saying talks are moving “backwards.” This is Mayor Lightfoot speaking at a press conference Thursday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot: “Do the right thing for our kids in this difficult time, Black and Brown kids who look like me, coming from circumstances like the one that I grew up in, who are struggling and are failing. We are failing those children by not giving them the option to return to school.”

The Chicago Teachers Union responded on Twitter, “One of the more disappointing moments from the mayor’s press conference was her accusation of 'fear mongering,' when there have been 230,000 positive cases and nearly 5,000 deaths from COVID in her city. How do you explain 'fear mongering' to those families?”