by Paul Kersey Barring a dramatic shift, more than 800 Chicago Public Schools employees, many of them dues-paying Chicago Teachers Union members, will be without jobs when schools open in the fall. But CTU, having collected more than $1,000 in dues per year from these people before pricing them out of their jobs, has made plans to help...

This afternoon Chicago Public Schools officials announced layoffs of teachers and other staff. Overall 855 school district employees will be let go: 663 employees from 49 schools that are slated for closure and another 192 staff from schools that are slated for “turnaround.” CPS currently employs 41,500 staff, including more than 23,000 teachers. While the immediate cause...

by Paul Kersey Sometimes decline is a reality that must be dealt with before it can be reversed – and that’s the situation that the Chicago Public Schools board faces. With shrinking enrollment in traditional public schools the CPS board had little choice but to close down some school buildings and redistribute students to new...

by Paul Kersey In my last post, I called attention to the contract between the Cleveland Teachers Union (an affiliate of the American Federation, just like the union that represents Chicago teachers) and the Cleveland Municipal School District. The union and the district both deserve credit for releasing their contract to the media just two days after reaching...

From NBC’s Ward Room: Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis on Friday earned a second three year term. The union said Lewis received an “overwhelming 80 percent of the votes” cast, according to a preliminary tally of the votes. “[Union members have] spoken … saying that they appreciate the direction that the union has gone in...

by Paul Kersey The Chicago Teachers Union has announced plans to file a lawsuit to prevent the closure of about 50 Chicago Public Schools buildings. The union is hoping to keep as many buildings as possible open, and in the process preserve its members’ jobs. Even if the lawsuit fails, the litigation could delay the implementation...

by Paul Kersey In Tuesday’s Chicago Reader Ben Joravsky essentially snarks that there must be something wrong with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, because the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools where the mayor sends his children manages to work just fine with the American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, Local 2063. Emanuel, on the other hand, remains...