Have you lost the plot trying to keep up with Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations?
CTU has been working without a contract since June, but the union and Chicago Public Schools hope to reach a deal next month.
What the Teachers Union Wants
CTU whittled down its 700 demands to 160 this week in its “roadmap to settlement,” focusing on gradual salary increases and phased-in hiring, WBEZ and the Sun-Times reported. District officials had estimated the 700 proposals would cost $10 billion over the contract’s four years.
But Another Union Has a Problem …
SEIU Local 73, a union that represents CPS special education classroom assistants, is threatening to sue the district over a CTU proposal they worry could take jobs away from their members, according to the Tribune.
CPS CEO Pedro Martinez during a school board meeting at the CPS Administrative Office Sept. 18. (Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune / Getty)
Will CPS Leader Be Ousted?
Meanwhile, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez just turned down a buyout from an attorney representing the Chicago Board of Education after he retained his own attorney, the Tribune reported.
ICYMI: Martinez has been beefing with Mayor Brandon Johnson and CTU, but firing Martinez without cause would be expensive.
The fight began when Martinez refused to take out a short-term, high-interest loan to cover the teachers' contract.
That decision was backed by the previous school board before members resigned en masse this fall over the conflict. Johnson appointed a new school board, but it’s unclear whether they will act on either Martinez’s employment or the CTU contract before Chicago’s partly elected school board takes office in January.
What’s Next?
CTU wants to finalize the contract before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January. The current school board agrees, despite calls from some alders and incoming elected school board members to hold off on major decisions until the new board is in place, Chalkbeat reported.
