School Board, Teachers Union Say No To Arbitrator's Report
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 19, 2012 2:00PM
The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago School Board, as expected, rejected the results of an arbitrator's report offering recommendations on how to solve the impasse over a new labor contract Wednesday. On the bright side, at least the two sides were able to agree on something.
Arbitrator Edwin Benn recommended a pay raise for teachers of 15-20 percent in the first year of a new contract, based on CPS’ lengthening of the school day in the upcoming school year. Benn wrote.
“Breaking this dispute down to its simplest terms, the Board has exercised its authority to impose a sea change driven by the substantial lengthening of the school day and year, with the expectation that the employees will work those additional hours (approximately 20% more) for free or without fair compensation for the additional work. The employees will not do that and should not be expected to do that.”
School Board President David Vitale told the Sun-Times the system simply doesn’t have the money to cover Benn’s recommended pay raise for teachers. CPS, which is balancing a FY 2013 budget through a combination of draining reserve funds, requesting a maximum property tax levy from homeowners and unspecified cuts, had offered four consecutive years of two percent pay raises to teachers.
CTU’s House of Delegates, riding the momentum of an overwhelming strike authorization vote, also rejected Benn’s findings. CTU President Karen Lewis said in a statement that, rather than fight for a pay raise, the union will be demanding a say in how a longer school day plays out and in employment security with a school system that is engaging in “turnaround” programs for failing schools on a more frequent basis.
There are many other issues related to improving the education of Chicago’s children that have yet to be resolved. The school board’s failure to offer us fair compensation or to even consider measures to retain qualified and experienced teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in our schools are very serious issues. However, those do not trump our concerns about:
- Reducing class size so that we can adequately address the varying educational needs of each child before them, or
- The need for not merely a longer school day, BUT a BETTER DAY which offers students a world class education. We must make it a priority to deliver to every student in every classroom a rich curriculum that includes art, music, foreign language, and physical education.
CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey indicated the union would be willing to take a smaller pay raise if the school board would offer its own concessions in return. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office released a statement Wednesday that said a longer school day was non-negotiable. That sentiment was echoed by CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard.
Now the two sides need to negotiate with an urgency if they hope to hold off the possibility of the first strike by Chicago teachers since 1987. The earliest the teachers union can call a strike is Aug. 17.