CTU Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

CTU Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

The Chicago Teachers Union is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and to lift up the culture, contributions and voices of the vibrant and growing Latine community in the city of Chicago!

A message from CTU President Stacy Davis Gates

Dear Union Sibling: You may have seen the recent online attacks against my family and our union related to the school where my eldest child recently enrolled. This story was initiated by a disgruntled former CTU employee with a history of violent incidents who has stalked members of my family and now publicly doxed my teenage son online, posting his name, photo, school, sports team and more, violating my son’s privacy and threatening his safety and the safety of his schoolmates.

ChiArts Educators Reach Tentative Agreement with School Management

CHICAGO — On Wednesday evening, union educators and art instructors at Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) reached a tentative agreement with the school’s board of directors on a new four-year contract that will center the needs of the scholar-artists, students and their families who live at the core of the school’s mission.

Now Hiring: Green schools organizer

The Organizer will work with labor, environmental, and community allies to sustain and expand a grassroots Green Schools Campaign in Chicago. This is a full-time in person position, based in the Chicago area with one day a week at CJI offices.

CTU PAC powers big political wins for our schools

CTU PAC powers big political wins for our schools

Decades of oppositional mayors, city councils and legislatures have undermined public education and public services and have stood in the way of efforts to win the schools Chicago’s students deserve. The CTU PAC powers our efforts to sweep those political obstacles out of the way.

Possible ChiArts strike Wednesday morning: Wear your CTU red to work!

Possible ChiArts strike Wednesday morning: Wear your CTU red to work!

CTU members at ChiArts are on the precipice of a strike, and we need your solidarity! On Wednesday, wear your CTU red to school, take solidarity photos with your co-workers, post them on social media, and tag @CTUlocal1 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. And please email them to communications@ctulocal1.org. We will send another e-blast tonight at 10 pm to update you about whether management decided to come to a fair agreement at the bargaining table or whether the strike is officially on.

SOI’s rank-and-file leaders critical to resistance, transforming Chicago’s political landscape

SOI’s rank-and-file leaders critical to resistance, transforming Chicago’s political landscape

CTU Organizing Director Rebecca Martinez sees the four-week Summer Organizing Institute as an investment in our members and in our resistance. The program has been foundational in developing member leaders and organizing campaigns like the one that helped elect Mayor Brandon Johnson, an SOI alumnae himself.

Extreme Heat Watch Member Update

As the first week of school and this Extreme Heat Watch comes to an end, it is clear that our work to create more green schools and the development of a 10-year facilities master plan that will center our students, their families and sound environmental values is both necessary.

CTU President Wraps Up Back-to-School Tour with Visit to Nicholson STEM Academy

CHICAGO—With Friday marking an end to Chicago’s first week back at school, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates will make her final Back-To-School tour stop at Nicholson STEM Academy, located in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. Utilizing technology to enhance the educational experiences for students and their families, Nicholson services a high number of students in temporary living situations.

Extreme heat update

As we all grapple with the impacts of the current climate catastrophe, here is a quick update about where we are on ensuring that we keep our classrooms and school buildings safe and thriving.

It’s critical to stay safe in the heat

Welcome back to another school year, and congratulations on a great first day. As we begin to settle in for another year, we have all been gripped by the impacts of the Extreme Heat Watch issued by the National Weather Service. For some of us, extreme heat has resulted in limited outdoor times for our students, and for others the extreme heat in our classrooms and hallways have exposed the vulnerability of our school buildings, many of which were built decades ago without air conditioning or accommodations for a warming plant.

Beginning-of-Year Special Education Checklist

We’ve pulled together some of the most important special ed contract articles that are especially important for our special education members to be aware of at the beginning of the year. Remember, our contract won important protections for you, but they are meaningless without enforcement.

Welcome to a new school year: the year we turn power into progress.

Welcome to a new school year: the year we turn power into progress.

In movements like ours, we often forget to take time to celebrate and acknowledge our victories. Because of our solidarity, this year we have an opportunity to take the political power we won at the ballot box and in the state legislature and convert it into power in our school buildings. That is our challenge in the coming year.