The Chicago Teachers Union spoke out against the draconian layoffs and budget cuts imposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Stephanie Gadlin
August 9, 2016 312/329-6250 (office)
CTU President Karen Lewis warns of inevitable strike should CPS enforce cuts to wages and benefits of public school educators
CHICAGO—The following is a partial transcript of CTU President Karen Lewis’ remarks from Monday’s news conference in response to the new Chicago Public Schools budget:
“I am Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union. I am joined by fellow officers, Vice President Jesse Sharkey and Financial Secretary Maria Moreno. We are also joined by a group of rank and file teachers—all who are obtaining their national board certification, which is one of the highest distinctions in the nation for our profession. And contrary to the governor’s beliefs, all of whom can read, write, add, think…and vote him out of office.
“On Monday, August 29th, CTU members—teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians—will report to their schools and classrooms. They will be returning to work without a labor agreement amidst severe budget cuts and threats to their profession, income and benefits.
“Our members are returning to more than 500 school buildings that are filthy due to bad CPS outsourcing; with contaminated pipes that may have exposed children and employees to lead poisoning; and in a climate where random gun violence and neighborhood conflicts have gripped significant parts of our city in fear.
“Our members are returning to campuses where their colleagues have disappeared, by no fault of their own, but because of mandates from the Board that principals reduce positions and cut school budgets to the marrow. Fewer employees—including teachers’ aides—mean enormous class sizes. The more students in a classroom mean fewer minutes of personalized instruction for each student.
“And, though educators have already returned about $2 billion in salary and benefits to the district, with $100 million being returned this year alone, we are being asked to give more when there is nothing left to give. Understand that budget cuts impact students; they include cuts to programming, staffing and services.
“Our special needs students have been hit the hardest, and CPS continues to gut special education at record speed. Even as children are impacted by post-traumatic stress disorder due to rampant violence and death—including police shootings caught on video—CPS reduces social workers, school psychologists and nurses.
“Veteran educators, many of whom are nationally board certified, have been driven out of the district, out of our city, and some, out of the state. Just as highly skilled public university professors are being driven to smaller school districts in Florida and elsewhere, we are seeing teachers and good principals leaving CPS in record numbers. People go where they can engage in their profession, have significant impact on students and where their careers aren’t threatened at every turn.
“The Chicago Teachers Union has been clear. If the Board of Education imposes a 7 percent slash in our salaries, we will move to strike. Cutting our pay is unacceptable, and for years, the ‘pension pickup’ as the Board has called it, was part of our compensation package. This was not a perk. This was negotiated compensation with the Board of Education.
“The CTU has also been very clear—CPS is broke on purpose. Instead of chasing phantom revenue in Springfield and in between the seat cushions of Chicago taxpayers, Mayor Emanuel and the Chicago City Council can show true leadership and guts by reinstating the corporate head tax, declaring a TIF surplus and fighting for progressive taxation that would pull in revenue from the uber-wealthy in our city and state. The rich must pay their fair share.
“Chicago’s teachers are required to live in the city of Chicago. This means the mayor is telling us that even though he has stolen our raises, cut our benefits such as steps and lanes, and now threatens an even further pay cut of 7 percent, as taxpayers we must pay more and more and more for everything under the sun. None of that new revenue, however, will even go toward schools. This is absurd thinking.
“That is why the Chicago Teachers Union will attend all CPS budget hearings and call for truthful and fair taxation for CPS schools. Our members will do what they do best—educate the public, including parents, about the lies within CPS’ funding formula, the Board’s budgeting process and why the school district continues to cry broke.
“Cuts to our pay and benefits must be negotiated. We have been bargaining in good faith since the middle of last year and we have yet to come to an agreement. At some point a line has to be drawn in the sand.
“Chicago teachers do not seek to go on strike. We want to return to clean, safe, resourced schools. We want a fair contract. We will continue to partner with parents and community residents in fighting for the schools our students deserve.
“But we will not accept an imposed pay cut.
“To parents, play close attention to what is going on over the next few weeks so you can be prepared should CPS force educators back on the picket line. To CTU members, we’ve been telling you for months now to save as much money as you can.
“We do not know if Mayor Emanuel can stand another teachers strike, especially at a time when confidence in his leadership is at an all-time low, and when the city is in an uproar over another police shooting of an unarmed African-American youth.
“Do not force our hand.”
Isn’t CPS/Rahm still planning to build that brand new expensive selective high school? How do you justify that in the face of school closures, mass layoffs, avoiding payments to teacher pensions, and all the other financial crap they’ve pulled?
Is it just me, or does the Dyett hunger strike look like the canary in the coal mine? So much has happened in a year, I’m a concerned person in California. I stand in solidarity with Chicago public educators!
Obama and his cronies have bought up lots of vacant land on the south side of Chicago. This is all part of a real estate gentrification plan. One area will house the Obama Library, and fittingly across the street will be a $27 million dollar charter. As for the Chicago Public Schools, “let them eat cake.” http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20160804/CRED0701/160809935/could-obama-library-lift-woodlawns-housing-market
Actually, this is a very easy formula for understanding much of the charter school shell game: figure out what land is being sold, and to whom, inside poor neighborhoods: poor neighborhoods which house schools most esasily “closed” under the name of “fixing” them. The kids and their parents move out, the developers take over, and the yuppies move in.
A wonderful opportunity for our new President to show her cards–one way or the other.
Don’t know what you mean, Steve. Please explain–thanks!
Ms. Clinton can come out strongly in favor of the teachers and public education or she can support the neo-liberal trend in Chicago to privatize its public schools, or she can do or say nothing (which is a version of the second choice).
If I am understanding this correctly, the Chicago teachers are being asked to make an additional 7% contribution to their pension, a 7% reduction in their salary. CPS teachers do not participate in Social Security so they will not collect SS when they retire; that’s what one newspaper article stated. That’s a vicious scam right there against public employees and doesn’t it weaken SS? Thank goodness that is not the case in NJ or most states. Retired teachers in NJ collect SS and their pensions. One wonders if the parents will support the teachers this time around?
They are being asked to make an additional contribution to the pension . So let’s understand that most workers neither have a defined benefit pension nor an adequately funded defined contribution plan . Most workers employer match to a 401K are pathetically inadequate. They do not earn enough to adequately fund this option.
So what is the best way for those of us in the labor movement to maintain the benefits we have received.
Fight like hell to raise the standard of living of other workers less fortunate than ourselves. Unfortunately labor has not done all it should. Not only do we expend to little effort on reaching out to help the unorganized. We spend time attacking each other instead of the oligarchy.
401Ks were originally designed to supplement regular pensions not as a replacement of a pension. They are a good deal if you are rich but for ordinary workers, they are indeed inadequate and many were wiped out during the great recession or any financial downturn.
“401ks: America’s Biggest Investment Fraud Was Foreseen and Preventable” A 2010 Forbes article by Edward Siedle – Siedlehttp://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2010/10/07/401ks-americas-biggest-investment-fraud-was-foreseen-and-preventable/#439c81c35f7d
No argument from me . When mine was announced in the early eighties .My response was why would workers invest in speculative markets whose goal was to cut labor costs. Actually they were not supplements they were plans for the corporate suite. Labor adopted them as supplement most times initially with out an employer contribution. Taking advantage of tax benefit.
But my point is that our pension system is going the way of the DODO. for most workers.
The Labor movement from the local level to the suites of the International Unions and the AFL-CIO had better become more inclusive or perish . P.S. Trumka knows that. It has not happened,due to resistance of member Unions.
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/12/in_historic_move_afl_cio_expands
Yes, Illinois public employees do not contribute to Social Security. That was our politicians way of stamping out double dippers. Of course this does not stop themselves from getting three pensions (Former Mayor Daley gets three – States Attorney, Representative, & mayor).
Not only does CPS want to take 7% out of the paycheck (it was a CPS way of giving a pay raise way back), they also want to raise the percentage of health care premiums that we pay (that’s another story) along with a small % pay raise that equals out to a pay cut. They put this in the proposed contract that CTU members voted down.
The ironic things is that the ‘New & Balanced” budget they just released includes the voted down proposal that in February they admitted that they did not have the funds to back it, but now suddenly they do have the funds.
I don’t think anyone would agree on a contract that ends up giving a pay cut.
However, there are many teachers–both active & retired–who did work at other jobs & made their 40 quarters but–due to W.E.P. (“Windfall”–{ha!} Elimination Program, effective only in some states, one of which is ILL-Annoy), those people are, indeed, receiving very little (one person I know receives $20/month)or nothing of what they had, indeed, paid into Social Security.
Also, Joe–I highly recommend the PBS documentary “The Retirement Gamble.” Can be seen in its entirety on pbs.org, I believe.
Also, our elected officials obviously (& insultingly) believe that CPS teachers/staff do not know how to compute basic math. The end result is a contract with a pay cut–not even same pay as last contract, let alone a cost of living increase.
This is what a union leader is supposed to sound like, act like, and lead like. Thank you Karen Lewis!
Oh, if only Weingarten and Eskelsen Garcia would take a class from Ms. Lewis and learn how to actually support, defend, protect, and lead their rank and file! Much of the horrific damage done by NCLB, RTTT, and now ESSA would be a distant memory.
Because of a lack of strong leadership and comlacent cowardice we are watching our beloved profession being systematically destroyed, unions being decimated, public services being curtailed/cut/canceled.
One day, we will awaken and find out that we are strong. One day, we will remember what our forebears achieved against equally powerful enemies of workers and families.
Until that day, I will look to CPS and Karen Lewis for inspiration and pray for the first national teacher strike in the history of the USA.
CTU is now bottom up Unionism. It is the members who made it strong after a downward spiral. If membership had been active to begin with they would have been in a far better place . But being active means reaching beyond the immediate needs of the members and uniting with other workers ,Union and Non Union . That is the challenge of the labor movement. CTU’s outreach into the community is as important as any contract they might achieve. This a long battle, wining a few skirmishes means little.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/22148-modeling-the-education-they-want-to-be-the-great-chicago-teachers-union-transformation
Chris–what you wish for will never happen unless it comes, as Joel says, from bottom up. Good for the NYC MORE high school victories, & for the great leadership in the Ma Teachers Assn (Barbara Madeloni–sp.-?). NJEA leadership sounds good, too.
Karen Lewis & CTU Leadership never “goes along to get along.”
The same cannot be said for Lily, Randi & leaders in other states.
(Example–the way-roo-early NEA & AFT HRC endorsements. What did they ask for in return for their members, for the children? Zip, nada, nothing!*Rank-&-file NEVER asked. Four NEA state orgs./leaders protested this–MA, NJEA & RI & NH {I think those were the other 2}). CORE Leaders–the CTU–voted to endorse Bernie Sanders (AFTER several debates—NOT early!)–despite the AFT HRC endorsement.
Locals, rank-&-file–work to vote out your state leadership if they’re not beneficial–& run for those offices yourselves & get your friends to do so, as well.
*”Power concedes nothing w/o demand. It never has, & it never will.”
–Frederick Douglass
To Steve Cohen, above–thanks, Steve, & she should make a statement in favor of the CTU on this situation asap! (However, don’t think she will.)