The demand from the Chicago Teachers Union was clear.
The union, one of the most powerful and politically liberal in the country, wanted classes called off on May 1 for International Workers’ Day, a move that would free them to join protests for workers’ rights. Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, a former schoolteacher and C.T.U. organizer, signaled that he was supportive, and the union pushed forward with its plans.
But with May Day just over two weeks away, Chicago Public Schools has so far refused to go along. Macquline King, the head of the school district, said after a Board of Education meeting last week that she would not take students out of the classroom and give teachers the day off to join protests.
This week, Mary Fergus, a spokeswoman for C.P.S., reiterated that there was no change to the school calendar.
“We have always said school is on,” she said in a text message.
The standoff in the nation’s fourth-largest school district is the latest public drama for Mr. Johnson, a mayor whose approval rating sunk to 26 percent among Chicagoans in one survey last year. His term in office has recently been marred by high-profile departures, clashes with the City Council and hiring turmoil at city agencies.
His closeness with the teachers’ union has carried rewards and risks. When Mr. Johnson ran for office in 2023, the union helped power his campaign with organizing and campaign donations. Three years later, they remain the heart of Mr. Johnson’s political base, and he has been a friend to the union and its agenda.
But the union’s call to cancel school for May Day could backfire with parents and politically damage Mr. Johnson, who is up for re-election next year.
As tension has simmered among teachers, district officials and families, Mr. Johnson suggested on Wednesday that he was pressing for the union’s wishes, telling reporters, “May 1st is going to happen.” Chicago’s Board of Education, which is transitioning to being all elected, is currently held by 10 elected members and 11 appointees of the mayor.
Asked when parents would be given notice, Mr. Johnson said: “Those conversations are happening. That planning is underway.”
The teachers’ union argued that they should be allowed dedicated time for protest in light of an “unprecedented national assault” on public education from the Trump administration and Chicago’s identity as a city with a strong labor movement.
Last week, the union filed a grievance with the school district, saying that C.P.S. agreed to the request during contract negotiations but failed to honor it.
Bridget Doherty Trebing, an art teacher at Taft High School on the Northwest Side of Chicago, blamed C.P.S. for causing “chaos” by not working out a plan with the union.
“Why would we not join a very large national and international coalition to engage in civic action on May 1?” she said, adding, “This feels like a no-brainer.”
Families are anxiously awaiting guidance, wondering if they need to line up child care or take the day off work.
“I think everybody here recognizes the importance of May 1, and people have autonomy about how they want to exercise their First Amendment rights,” said Jessica Biggs, a school board member who has been critical of Mr. Johnson. “But trying to compel a city to exercise them in one particular way just doesn’t seem very effective here.”
Parents in Chicago are generally supportive of public schoolteachers, and their interests often align when the union is fighting for smaller class sizes, more nurses and staff in schools and investments in buildings. But after enduring multiple teachers’ strikes and extended closures for Covid in recent years, some parents said they believed the union had now gone too far.
“As a C.P.S. parent, I don’t need C.P.S. to close the schools so that my kid can attend May Day marches or activities,” Greg Kelley, the president of a chapter of the Service Employees International Union that represents health care and child care workers, wrote on Facebook. “If I want them to skip school and participate in May Day actions, I can decide for myself that they won’t go to school on May 1st.”
Matt McGrath, a political consultant who worked in former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration, said it was hard to imagine that this was a fight that Mr. Johnson wanted at this point in his term.
“He’s either powerless to stop it or unwilling to,” Mr. McGrath said, “probably because it might cause a rupture he can’t afford with re-election less than a year away.”
The push to close schools on May 1 has been met with enthusiasm from many teachers, but also with a mix of frustration as the day has drawn nearer without clarity.
On Wednesday, city agencies held meetings to discuss a potential plan for May 1 that would close schools and allow teachers to protest.
Julie Bosman is the Chicago bureau chief for The Times, writing and reporting stories from around the Midwest.
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