Chicago Teachers Union

Scenes from Chicago Teachers Union rally in Daley Plaza

By Paul Kersey
09/06/2012
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

By Paul Kersey
09/04/2012
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...

Remain calm when responding to CTU’s strike notice

By Paul Kersey
08/29/2012
The Chicago Teachers Union filed a 10-day strike notice Wednesday, which may tempt some Chicagoans to overreact. To some extent the teachers union is counting on this sort of reaction. They are hoping that upset parents will call on the school board to end the strike at all costs, and pressure the district into making...

State Rep. Monique Davis compares school closings to Nazi actions

03/30/2012
During a contentious hearing on the Chicago school closings and turnarounds, Rep. Monique Davis compared actions of the CPS board to those during the "German whatever" (referring to the Nazi regime that closed Jewish businesses and schools in the 30s).

CPS board votes to put students and taxpayers first

By Chris Andriesen
02/24/2012
by Michael Wille Following a contentious 7 hour hearing on Wednesday, the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to turn around 10 failing schools and close or phase out 7 others. These schools had been seriously under performing over the last 5 years even with increased financial support from the city and the state. Nevertheless,...

Hubris defined: Chicago teachers union wants 30% salary raises

By Chris Andriesen
02/21/2012
by Michael Wille In their opening round of teacher contract negotiations, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has demanded reduced class sizes, higher taxes on the city’s richest residents and a whopping 30 percent salary increase with little accountability in return. Think about what they are calling for. At a time when 10.2 percent of Chicagoans are out...

CPS Votes to Put Students First, Lengthen School Day

09/21/2011
by Michael Wille With the CPS graduation rate hovering around 55%, you would think that teachers would be supportive of giving kids more time in the classroom.  After all, according to a new website started by CPS to promote the longer school day, 14 of 15 studies have confirmed positive results between lengthening time in the classroom...

A Moral Obligation

03/25/2011
by Mark Cavers An article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday quotes a representative of the Chicago Teachers Union arguing against the CPS decision to explore closing some under enrolled schools in an effort to close a $750 million deficit. The president attacks the decision saying the Chicago Public School system has, “a moral obligation to … stop these...

Right to Work In Michigan?

By Paul Kersey
12/10/2010
Michigan is poised to pass a Right-to-Work law in the next couple of days. Union protesters are staked out at the Capitol building making their anti-Right-to-Work opinions known. This is a key point in a huge political battle that will have repercussions that go well beyond the state of Michigan. Your friendly neighborhood labor expert...
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Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016