CHICAGO (AP) — For the first time in more than a decade, Chicago public school teachers have signed new contracts without a strike. threat On a strike. The four-year contract includes salary hikes, employment of more teachers, and class size restrictions.
Negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and the district did not escalate this time, but there was unprecedented confusion surrounding the unusual year’s talk. The drama included the school principal’s termination and the entire board of directors Resignation and Historical elections It tested the power of the union.
Chicago is currently facing uncertainty in the Trump administration Reducing education A looming question about how the country’s fourth largest school district is paying for contracts.
confusion
Currently, all parties are celebrating the agreement, but there is no shortage of turbulence.
Perhaps the main reason the negotiations were not left to the strike 2019 and 2012was an alliance of the union. Mayor Brandon Johnson. The union, a former teacher and CTU organizer, helped him elect him 2023.
He spent months trying to expel Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, Appointer In public by former mayor Lori Lightfoot.
“We’ve seen a lot of experience in the workforce and employment,” said Robert Bruno, professor of labor and employment at the University of Illinois.
Johnson wanted a $300 million high profit loan to cover new contracts and pension payments. This has been rejected by Martinez and the board as being financially irresponsible. In October, the board resigned in protest.
The following month, the city held its first school election. The Transition Committee – a mix of union-backed candidates, charter school supporters and independents – will include mayoral appointees until fully elected in 2027.
In December, the board fired Martinez, but remains until June. At one point, Martinez accused the new members of the union and privately at meetings, earning the judge’s restraint order.
Lecture
The union began contract talks last year with more than 700 requests. This is a record of a union of almost 30,000 people.
Union leaders say their goals are always equal Isolated city. About 70% of the district’s 325,000 students are low-income, with over 80% being black or Latino.
However, district officials said these lofty demands would cost more than $10 billion. The district’s annual budget is approximately $10 billion.
The new contract will cost around $1.5 billion.
“We remained true to our values,” Martinez said after the deal was announced. “We have managed to keep our students’ greatest interests at the heart of our constant focus.”
Both sides promoted transparency. For the first time, several negotiation sessions have been made public.
It was also the first time in almost decades that unions were allowed to negotiate issues like class size. In 1995, the Republican-led Illinois legislature passed a law that restricted collective bargaining rights, primarily on payments and benefits. The Democratic leader changed that in 2021.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates celebrated the contract as a victory to protect students, especially vulnerable students under President Donald Trump.
“It’s big, complicated, and certainly a step in the right direction,” she said.
Johnson also took the victory lap by trumpeting his union bond.
“When I was in office, they said it would be a responsibility,” he told reporters recently. “But it seems like the other mayors have brought Chicago Public Schools, the school board, the mayor’s office and CTU to the table and the kids haven’t gotten exactly what they deserve.
transaction
Under this contract, teachers will receive a retroactive salary increase of 4% as their contract expired last year. After that, you will receive a 4% or 5% salary increase each year.
Starting next year, the median teachers will be $98,000. By the end of the 2028 contract, the average teacher will earn around $110,000, according to the district.
The district, which employs around 7,000 teachers, will employ an additional 800 people and almost 100 librarians. The teacher adds 10 minutes of preparation time daily for a total of 70 minutes.
Class sizes are also limited by grade level. For example, kindergarten is the smallest, with 25 students closing.
Union leaders announced Monday that 97% of the members who voted for it have approved the deal. Davis Gates was called the “overwhelmingly historical level” for contracts built on work over the past few years, including strikes.
future
Experts say what happened in Chicago could give other unions momentum. A Los Angeles teacher currently negotiating, looked at CTU in a recent newsletter.
“Organization is a way to resist the political agenda that dismantles public schools and public services, and, like our Chicago union brothers, we can win a future in Los Angeles.”
Still, serious funding questions remain.
The district has a deficit of approximately $500 million a year, with a $175 million pension refund on hold. The district is also looking to participate in contract negotiations with the principal’s union.
Martinez said the first year of the contract was covered, but there was uncertainty after that.
What both parties agree is that the lecture took too long.
When Trump took office, union organizers said there was more gravity in their work, despite both Democrat bases being in line with issues like this: Immigration rights.
“We had a sense of urgency and a sense of responsibility,” Davis Gates said. “The district shared responsibility, but not urgency.”
School officials accused the union of taking time.
“We should have signed this deal a few months ago,” Martinez said.
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