By CTU Communications | September 16, 2021 | News
File under: Hispanic Heritage, Mexican Independence
Revolution is grounded in ordinary people’s fight for freedom and equality | Revolución se basa en la lucha de la gente común por la libertad y la igualdad
By CTU Communications | September 15, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: CEO, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, Pedro Martinez
COVID-19, poor facilities, houseless student and family engagement, and at least seven vacancies in senior CPS leadership positions are among issues that Pedro Martinez must face as he steps into new role. CHICAGO, September 15, 2021 — The Chicago Teachers Union...
By CTU Communications | September 14, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: Acero, Acero Zizumbo, COVID-19
Memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Union and Acero management calls for school-wide shutdown if there are three or more confirmed positive cases across three or more classrooms within a 14-day period.
By CTU Communications | September 11, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: 911
CHICAGO, Sept. 1, 2021 — The Chicago Teachers Union issued the following statement on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11: “On this day, we honor the nearly 3,000 men, women and children who died on September 11, 2001. These beloved souls were flight attendants,...
By CTU Communications | September 10, 2021 | News
File under: COVID-19, FAQ
Get answers to Fall 2021’s most frequently asked questions about COVID safety, benefit days, quarantines, clinician spaces, evaluations and more.
By Richard Berg | September 10, 2021 | ACTS, News
File under: ChiArts: Chicago High School for the Arts, COVID-19, CTPF: Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, CTU-ACTS, Youth Connections Leadership Academy
Almost 90 percent of unionized charter schools have negotiated safety agreements with CTU that include testing, screening and increased staffing. CTU-ACTS has established a health insurance committee seeking to provide an improved and less expensive benefits package. And, after threats to close, Youth Connections Leadership Academy will remain open for another year.
By Jesse Sharkey, CTU President | September 9, 2021 | News
File under: Bargaining, Bargaining Update
“We’ll get back to you” isn’t good enough during a global pandemic, when people, especially in our hardest hit Black and Brown communities, are still falling ill, suffering and dying.
By CTU Communications | September 9, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: COVID-19, Lori Lightfoot
COVID quarantines in CPS schools rose by 400 percent over three-day span beginning August 30, as the mayor’s CPS team lags on reporting cases — while rejecting most safety protocols from last school year. CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2021 — Safety in Chicago public school...
By Ronnie Reese | September 7, 2021 | News
File under: Arbitration, Cleanliness, school cleanliness, Simeon
We received numerous reports about unclean schools and facilities as we prepared for the start to the year, but there is some good news to share regarding a school cleanliness arbitration victory at Simeon High School.
By Chris Geovanis | September 3, 2021 | News
File under: Bargaining, COVID-19, Lori Lightfoot
At the bargaining table yesterday, we learned the obvious consequences of Mayor Lightfoot’s unsafe conditions. We started school on Monday with a little over 230 students in quarantine. In the last three days, we’ve seen a 400 percent increase in those numbers,...
By CTU Climate Justice Committee | September 1, 2021 | News, Resolutions
File under: Climate change, CTPF: Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund
Approximately 1.6% of total fund assets of CTPF members’ retirement savings, are invested in 225 small cap and passive strategy funds, totaling $242.3 million that include fossil fuel industries. Disinvestment from these funds will indicate that such an action is a step toward undermining financial support of an industry responsible for the devastation of the planet.
By CTU Retiree Standing Committee | September 1, 2021 | News, Resolutions
File under: CTPF: Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, Pensions
“Pension holiday” is actually pension default worded in a way that is intended to portray the default as causing little harm or even as something positive. So, CTU will remind members and the media to use accurate language (“pension default” not “pension holiday”) in oral and written communications regarding non-payment of the employer’s pension payment that has been required.
By CTU Communications | September 1, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: COVID-19, delta, Lori Lightfoot, SEIU Local 73
Overcrowding, lack of testing, AC breakdowns, other mitigation failures will drive needless infections and preventable harm, while Lightfoot drags on landing safety agreements with SEIU, CTU. 7:00 a.m. Thursday, September 2: Press conference at with CTU, SEIU Local 73...
By Jesse Sharkey, CTU President | September 1, 2021 | News
File under: Bargaining, Bargaining Update, COVID-19, Lori Lightfoot, sick days
After two days of classes, one thing is clear: Mayor Lightfoot and CPS had no plan for safety for our schools. Major concerns are already flooding our inboxes, all over television, and in newspapers and online. With social distancing virtually impossible, students are...
By Jesse Sharkey, CTU President | August 29, 2021 | News
File under: COVID-19, Jesse Sharkey, Lori Lightfoot
I continue to be humbled and amazed at the sacrifice, creativity and commitment of our members as educators, rank-and-file unionists and advocates for your students and schools. Tomorrow is a historic day as our buildings reopen to all. For 16 months, we have...
By CTU Communications | August 27, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: COVID-19, Teach Truth
Despite persistent concerns about safety and stability, and only about 25% of new safety agreement landed as delta surges, educators eager to return to school communities to teach honest history. 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 28: Press availability at “Teach...
By Jesse Sharkey, CTU President | August 27, 2021 | News
File under: Bargaining, Bargaining Update, COVID-19, Lori Lightfoot
Hello all. Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe our bargaining session with CPS yesterday. Ignorant and offensive are more like it. Mayor Lightfoot’s CPS team turned a simple question about background checks for a potential COVID testing vendor into a...
By CTU Communications | August 26, 2021 | News
File under: COVID-19, ULP: Unfair Labor Practice
Tuesday, within an hour after bargaining concluded, the mayor’s CPS team released their Fall Reopening Guidance — after they’d deliberately failed to even inform us of this impending move at the table. Put bluntly, the mayor’s team seems congenitally...
By CTU President Jesse Sharkey | August 24, 2021 | News
File under: Bargaining, Bargaining Update, COVID-19, Jesse Sharkey, Lori Lightfoot, MOA
The mayor has touted layered mitigations as successful for our schools. Those mitigations are from the MOU we fought for last spring — she has yet to agree to them for this fall. Those strategies worked at a time when only 25% of our families returned their children to schools last winter and spring. Yet today, we have 100% of our families returning. How does this make sense?
By CTU Communications | August 23, 2021 | News
File under: COVID-19, PPC, Safe School Online Training, Self-directed time
Last Friday, August 20, CPS sent out a correspondence stating that the 600-700 minutes of Safe School On-Line Training must be completed during teacher self-directed time. The Union has reached out to Employee Engagement to push back and this resolve this matter, and...
By CTU Communications | August 22, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: COVID-19, delta, Lori Lightfoot
Educators eager to return to school communities — but flag ongoing concerns about safety and stability, with only about 25% of new safety agreement completed as delta variant drives Chicago caseload to nearly 500 cases/day. 7:00 a.m. Monday, August 23: Press...
By Eric Ruder | August 19, 2021 | News
File under: Safety Committee
Get your school’s Safety Committee up and running! The building-level safety committees are your frontline defense against unsafe conditions in your school. They provide a way to escalate safety issues to the principal directly. Join current Safety Committee members...
By Kurt Hilgendorf, Policy and Legislative Director | August 19, 2021 | Movement, News
File under: Teacher Leader Policy Fellowship
Led by CTU members and supported by our national union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the CTU Teacher Leader Policy Fellowship provides members an opportunity to expand advocacy and leadership skills, meet with researchers and decision-makers in Chicago and Illinois, and support the vital work of the CTU. Applications are due September 17, 2021.
By Jesse Sharkey | August 18, 2021 | News
File under: Bargaining, Bargaining Update, COVID-19, Jesse Sharkey
Though we are not at formal impasse, the pace of negotiations is frustratingly slow, and with the first day of school bearing down on all of us, the mayor’s CPS team is refusing to agree to a robust safety plan we can sign off on.
By CTU Communications | August 17, 2021 | News, Press Release
File under: COVID-19, delta, Right to Recovery, school reopening
CPS continues to insist on rolling back last year’s health and safety protocols even as the delta variant is filling hospitals around the country with children at the highest rate since the pandemic began and Chicago cases top 400/day — last year’s cut-off for...
