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Hello,
In 1995, Chicago educators were stripped of their bargaining rights and their voice to affect learning and teaching conditions. The city's students, especially minority and special needs students, lost resources and even some neighborhood schools as a result. Fighting to make up those losses, the Chicago Teachers Union, AFT Local 1, went on strike last month.
Last night, the CTU ended that strike after the last issue—making up instructional days—was resolved. The CTU’s House of Delegates voted to recommend the tentative agreement negotiated with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, which secured historic victories for Chicago students and educators. The new contract includes:
- A nurse assigned to every school.
- A social worker assigned to every school.
- A staffing pipeline: $2.5 million in recruitment and training programs for clinicians, $2 million in tuition and licensure for nurses, increased investments in “grow your own” teacher pipeline programs, and 50 percent tuition reimbursement for English learner and bilingual endorsement programs.
- $35 million annually to reduce overcrowded K-12 classrooms across the district, prioritizing schools serving the most vulnerable students.
- Unprecedented enforcement mechanisms for class size relief.
- A Sports Committee with an annual budget of $5 million (33 percent increase in annual funding) for increases to coaching stipends and new equipment/resources.
- Rescinding (as of July 1, 2019) the January 2019 0.8 percent increase in the healthcare contribution rate; no plan changes to health insurance benefits and reductions in co-pays for mental health services and physical therapy.
- Bank of sick days earned after July 1, 2012, increased from 40 to 244 days.
- Special education individualized education plans will be developed solely by the IEP team; principals will be required to use substitutes or release time to provide adequate time for special education duties to the extent possible; special ed teachers will get common preparation periods with general education teachers where possible; special ed teachers will be the last to be called to cover classes; and a $2.5 million annual fund will be provided to reduce workload for counselors, case managers and clinicians.
- Salaries will increase 16 percent over the life of the contract (17 percent compounded).
- Average PSRP pay will increase nearly 40 percent during the contract term.
- Starting PSRP salaries will increase 5-9 percent depending on grade.
- Veteran teachers (step 14 and above) will receive an additional aggregate $5 million in salary increases ($25 million over five years).
On top of these contract victories, the CTU secured commitments from the governor and legislative leaders to move bills that would restore full bargaining rights to Chicago educators and school support staff. They also committed to an elected school board. One reporter called it a “virtual guarantee.”
While this contract wasn’t everything our members fought for, it is the culmination of a generational struggle to make up the losses Chicago’s students and schools have experienced since 1995. CTU educators, parents and students marched side by side to fight for the conditions our kids need and the respect educators deserve. By working together, we have once again accomplished what many said was not possible.
If this contract is ratified, Chicago’s educators are one giant step closer to ensuring that students get the instruction, resources and services they need. This historic fight for what students deserve represents a paradigm shift: It wasn't simply a fight to mitigate the damage of austerity, it was a fight to create the conditions that both students and educators need.
We thank the Chicago community for standing with us and are glad that Mayor Lightfoot heard us. We congratulate the CTU's leadership, bargaining team and members for the work they did and continue to do.
Together with SEIU 73 and every parent, student and ally who stood with the CTU, including the Illinois Federation of Teachers, we know we have helped make Chicago's public schools safe, welcoming sanctuaries of learning, and we've shown an entire nation that when we fight together, we win.
In solidarity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President
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