CTU Delegates Vote Unanimously to Reject Chicago Board of Education’s Bargaining Options
The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body, the House of Delegates, voted unanimously to reject the Chicago Board of Education’s bargaining options. Approximately 450 of the 600 delegates convened at 4 p.m. on August 10, 2010. After hours of discussion, a voice vote was held at approximately 6 p.m., on the Resolution reprinted below.
“Tonight the members have spoken. They voted unanimously to improve Chicago’s public schools. They voted against larger class sizes and reduced services for children. They voted for an end to the years of disrespect shown toward teachers, paraprofessionals and the students and families they serve. The House of Delegates unanimously rejected the Board’s proposed contractual concessions,” said CTU President Karen Lewis.
At that meeting, Lewis recapped the CTU-Board of Education budget talks and shared written copies of the Board’s two proposed options delivered 7/23/10, as well as written responses from CPS CEO Ron Huberman and the Board’s legal team. “Our members know a good faith effort when they see it and they didn’t see it. Working with children all day makes you an expert in that area. Today, the delegates voted “no confidence” in the Board of Education’s proposals mainly because no matter what savings CTU members could offer CPS, the Board offered no guarantee that layoffs or class size increases would stop,” said Lewis.
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The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools and, by extension, the students and families they serve. CTU, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, is the third largest union in the country and the largest local union in Illinois.
