Government unions posed threats to public welfare that were recognized by founders of the labor movement and by progressive icon Franklin D. Roosevelt. Those threats have become reality, with government union power dominating – especially in Illinois.
A current dispute with SEIU and militant stances against police are just two reasons other city unions have reason to believe the Chicago Teachers Union cares little about solidarity and a lot about its own interests.
NEA has lost nearly 400,000 members since its peak in 2009. It could be because just 9% of the union’s spending is on representing teachers – with the rest on politics, administration and other union leader priorities.
The American Federation of Teachers’ recent federal filing showed just 36% of the national union’s spending was on representing teachers. More than two-thirds of its own employees made six-figure salaries.
The Illinois Education Association is the largest statewide teachers union in Illinois. But less than 15% of its in spending in 2024 was on representing its members – which could be why nearly 5,000 education employees have left the union.
The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing to expand the 20 “sustainable community schools” in the district. But the model doesn’t work: fewer students are proficient, absenteeism is higher.
The Chicago Teachers Union wails about schools closing, but it is the union’s actions that have been solely responsible for past school closings and for the conditions that will lead to more closures in the future.
Public records show the Chicago Teachers Union and other union entities pay Stacy Davis Gates a very healthy salary. But union transparency ends there. CTU is refusing to show members how it spends their money, despite that mandate in CTU’s rules.
The Chicago Teachers Union spent $1.74 million on its endorsed school board candidates. But most of them were defeated, signaling the unpopularity of CTU and Mayor Brandon Johnson.
The Chicago Teachers Union has funneled nearly $1.6 to lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly. See if your lawmakers accepted CTU cash.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is banking on $300 million in new property taxes from residents in his latest budget. He and his former coworkers at the Chicago Teachers Union want a progressive state income tax to deliver more money to them, not to property tax relief.
The Chicago Teachers Union has spent nearly $1.3 million on campaign donations in an effort to influence what happens in the Illinois General Assembly. See if your state lawmakers accepted money from the CTU.