Chicago Teachers Union favorability down to 29% amidst potential strike

New polling shows 3-in-5 Chicago voters have an unfavorable view of the Chicago Teachers Union. More than 55% said they would be less likely to vote for someone who accepts CTU donations.

New polling shows 60% of Chicago voters have an unfavorable view of the Chicago Teachers Union and more than half disapprove of the union’s president, Stacy Davis Gates.

Of the 798 registered Chicago voters polled by M3 strategies, only 29% approve of the CTU, down from 44% in February 2023 just before the union’s hand-picked candidate won City Hall in Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

In the same poll, 55% had an unfavorable view of CTU president Stacy Davis Gates. Polling shows voter awareness of Davis Gates and the CTU reached a new high amid months of tense contract negotiations between union representatives and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.

The union has made over 700 contract demands that CPS administrators have projected will create a $4 billion deficit by 2029 if just 52 of the demands are met.

The poll showed 57% would be less likely to vote for someone who took campaign cash from CTU. Johnson is now the least popular mayor in modern Chicago history with 14% approval.

While union leaders bankrolled Johnson’s successful mayoral run in 2023 to land allies on both sides of the bargaining table, polling indicates both Johnson and the CTU’s support are more of a liability than an asset.

To see more details about the poll, click here.