Big money CTU bosses: Union leaders make nearly three times median teacher salary
Big money CTU bosses: Union leaders make nearly three times median teacher salary
While we do not have a complete list of CTU employees, the union
Enough on teacher salaries. How much do teachers union bosses make?
Enough on teacher salaries. How much do teachers union bosses make?
Striking Chicago teachers have at times echoed the themes of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Hostility toward big corporations that benefit from tax breaks and other giveaways (real and imagined) has been a recurring theme. Yesterday CTU President Karen Lewis told a rally “I’m not afraid to say that we care about our children and we...
Cheat Sheet: Chicago Public Schools
Cheat Sheet: Chicago Public Schools
Cut through the rhetoric. Here are the facts. CPS Revenues and Expenditures Total revenues: $5,534,664,416 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total local revenues: $2,508,887,449 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total state revenues: $1,906,809,466 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total federal revenues: $1,118,976,501 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total expenditures 2011: $5,680,099,797 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Chicago public schools will drain their cash reserves this year and will face a $1 billion shortfall during the...
Chicago public school teachers are overpaid
Chicago public school teachers are overpaid
by Lawrence J. McQuillan, PhD Chief Economist The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is on strike to get, among other things, more pay. They originally asked for a 30 percent pay raise. The current offer on the table is a 16 percent pay hike over four years. They don’t deserve a penny increase. In fact, they deserve a...
John Tillman’s statement regarding Chicago Teachers Union strike
John Tillman’s statement regarding Chicago Teachers Union strike
Now that Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has announced that CTU will strike Monday morning, it is very clear: Children are not the top priority for teachers who belong to the Chicago Teachers Union. The two things that matter most to these teachers are money and avoiding accountability for poor performance. Lewis and the...
Chicago Teachers Union: Unknown Unknowns
Chicago Teachers Union: Unknown Unknowns
Believe it or not, late Friday afternoon the scuttlebutt was that the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union were close to agreeing on a contract. Progress was the word of the day well into Sunday. And we all know how all that turned out. Rumors, about how close the sides are to reaching an...
Two inconvenient facts for CTU: More pay, fewer hours
Two inconvenient facts for CTU: More pay, fewer hours
Many facts are important to understanding the strike and the demands of the Chicago Teachers Union. Here are just two of them: 1. Chicago teachers are already the highest paid in the nation when compared to the 10 largest school districts in the country, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality. The salary data below cuts...
Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike bulletin: Recommended strike chants
Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike bulletin: Recommended strike chants
Strike chants pulled directly from Chicago Teachers Union’s strike bulletin issued on Sept. 8, 2012. What’s outrageous? unpaid wages! What’s disgusting? Union busting! Rahm, Brizard, we’re no fools! We won’t let you ruin our schools! Rahm, Brizard, we’re no fools! Corporate cash can’t buy our schools! Lies and tricks will not divide, Parents and Teachers side by...
Five things you need to know about Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
Five things you need to know about Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
As of tonight, teachers in the Chicago Public Schools are expected to go on strike, and regular classes will not be held Monday morning.
Institute on ABC 7 News: Contract talks between CTU and CPS
Institute on ABC 7 News: Contract talks between CTU and CPS
CPS will be draining cash reserves this year just to stay afloat, and will be $1 billion in the red next school year. The 30 percent raise CTU originally asked for is out of the question.
“We are Democrats”
“We are Democrats”
This will hardly come as news to most readers of this blog, but an occasional reminder is still useful: the ties between unions and the Democratic Party are numerous and strong. That goes for the Chicago Teachers Union and the administration with which they are bargaining. As Randi Weingarten, the head of the CTU’s parent...
Scenes from Chicago Teachers Union rally in Daley Plaza
Scenes from Chicago Teachers Union rally in Daley Plaza
On Labor Day, the Chicago Teachers Union held its protest in preparation for a strike that is set to begin on Sept. 10, unless negotiations with Chicago Public Schools result in a contract.The protest served two functions: first, as a sort of threat display designed to demonstrate to CPS officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel that...
Chicago Teachers Union is all worked up with nowhere to go
Chicago Teachers Union is all worked up with nowhere to go
As thousands of families throughout Chicago watched anxiously, the process of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement turned melodramatic at a Chicago Teachers Union Labor Day rally. CTU President Karen Lewis called Mayor Rahm Emanuel “a liar and a bully”, while teachers and representatives of several other unions chanted “enough is enough” and other slogans intended...
Roadblock to reform: How Illinois labor law empowers government unions at taxpayers’ expense
Roadblock to reform: How Illinois labor law empowers government unions at taxpayers’ expense
THE PROBLEM Government employee unions have become a persistent obstacle to reforming government in Illinois. At every level, and on a wide range of issues, union officials work to prevent changes that are desperately needed. In Chicago, the teachers union is has threatened a strike to prevent teachers from working a longer day. Meanwhile in...