Chicago Teachers' Strike Update: The Devil's In The Details

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 16, 2012 3:00PM

© Ryan Williams, used with permission

Both Chicago Public Schools officials and the Chicago Teachers Union seemed cautiously optimistic about the “agreement in principle” on a new labor deal that would end the week-long teachers' strike and put teachers back into classrooms across the city. While Chicago Public Schools had hoped doors would open Monday, CTU wants to make sure everything is signed and sealed before that happens and asked not to trust anything regarding details of a new deal unless they say anything.

The teachers union released details of the potential deal shortly after their Saturday rally at Union Park. They include:

• A three-year contract with an option for a fourth year. The deal would include a three percent pay raise in the first year, two percent pay raises in the second and third years, and a three percent raise in the fourth year if both sides agree to extend the contract.


• No merit-based pay. The agreement in principle preserves the full value of teachers and paraprofessionals career ladders (aka “steps”) and will increase the value of teachers at the highest steps.


• Teacher evaluations based on 70 percent “teacher practice,” 30 percent standardized test scores—the minimum requirement under state law. Teachers are also guaranteed there will be “no harmful consequences” for tenured teachers in the first year of the deal and grants the union the right to appeal a rating.


• Hiring 512 teachers (according to Catalyst Chicago) to provide art, music, world languages and physical education so that the longer school day CPS and Mayor Rahm Emanuel insist on having doesn’t turn into an extra 90 minutes of recess.


• A “CPS Hiring Pool” where one half of all of CPS hires must be laid-off members.


• An agreement with the School Board to hire more nurses, social workers and counselors if it gets new revenue. (Look for a possible fight on this ahead: TIFs were mentioned as that new revenue source.)


• Language has been included in the contract to ensure CPS hires a racially diverse group of teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians with adequate prep time and, for the first time, an anti-bullying measure.

CTU’s bargaining committee will present the tentative deal to its Board of Delegates at 3 p.m. today. Still, CTU president Karen Lewis hedged her bets on whether school would resume Monday, saying the Board of Delegates may want more time to review the agreement.

“We are a democratic body and therefore we want to ensure all of our members have had the chance to weigh-in on what we were able to win,” Lewis was quoted as saying. “We believe this is a good contract, however, no contract will solve all of the inequities in our district.”