Chicago public school teachers overwhelmingly approved a four-year labor contract to raise the average salary to more than $114,000 a year.
The Chicago Teachers Union Leader announced Monday that 85% of CTU members were taking part in the election, with 97% of those who voted to vote in favor of the interim agreement being announced.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates cited the union’s democratic process and thanked its members for their robust participation.
“Last Thursday and Friday, they voted at an overwhelming and historic level to ratify this (tentative agreement) into the contract. This contract was negotiated by the 65 rank and file members of our union, those who are now educating your child,” Gates said.
Mailee Smith, senior director of labor policy and staff attorney at the Illinois Institute of Policy Studies, said CTU has spent years seeking large contracts of this kind, and taxpayers are supposed to pay it.
“They did a bankroll [Chicago Mayor Brandon] Johnson takes office to get a sweet deal. That’s a $1.5 billion adjustment on the back of taxpayers,” Smith told Center Square.
CTU Treasury Secretary Maria Moreno said the election was held by paper votes at over 500 CPS schools and central locations. Moreno said the results showed historical support and unity.
“That’s what it means to care about your school. That means seeing what we win comes out for the vote,” Moreno said.
Related: Chicago Teachers Union votes to return to remote learning
To vote, voters were required to present state-issued identification and proof of CTU membership.
The Chicago School Board may officially make its labor contracts official at its next meeting scheduled for April 24th. The average salary for CPS teachers rises to $114,429 before the transaction closes.
The union leaders sought to criticize both Washington, D.C. Republicans and Chicago Democrats at CTU press conference Monday.
Chicago Labor Federation President Bob Reiter said President Donald Trump and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon are dismantling education infrastructure.
“And we won’t be able to rely on the Ministry of Education to guide us nationwide, and what that means,” the writer said.
Gates was asked if he was worried that government efficiency and changes to the Department of Education could lead to Chicago losing education funds from federal taxpayers.
“Please tell me why I’m not worried. What Doge and Elon Musk are doing in America is what Paul Vallas, Arne Duncan and Rahm Emanuel have already done in Chicago,” Gates said.
“Think about everything we’ve been fighting for: school closures, school privatization, women’s layoffs, especially black women,” Gates said.
Gates criticized Duncan and Emmanuel several times during the press conference.
Duncan served as CPS CEO before becoming US Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama. Emmanuel was a US Congressman and Obama’s Chief of Staff before serving as mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019.
Ballas is the former CPS CEO who lost the 2023 mayoral leak election for Brandon Johnson.
Related: Chicago Teachers Union boss says school choice is for “racist” but sends his son to private school
If the school board approves the contract, current Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said the board must pass amendments to fund the first year of the transaction.
Martinez said the deal would allow teachers to provide the largest annual salary increase in over 13 years, allowing the district to add hundreds of staff.
CPS currently spends around $20,000 per student per year on taxpayer funds.
Syndicated with permission from Central square.
