CTU and CPS spar over new contract

The Chicago Public Schools district has started its second week, but teachers remain without a union contract as negotiations have dragged on for months .

Why it matters: Teachers' contracts have long been contentious in Chicago, with multiple work stoppages since 2012.

• The current contract expired in June but the union hasn't authorized a strike while negotiations are ongoing.

Driving the news: Right before Labor Day weekend, CPS leadership reportedly proposed a deal that would include 5% raises for teachers.

Yes, but: The union responded that this proposal ignored half of its demands, such as reduced class sizes, additional staff and even housing for unhoused students.

• CTU president Stacy Davis Gates posted on social media that the raises would come at the expense of student sports programs.

Context: The CTU is one of the most powerful and progressive teachers unions in the country, with nearly 30,000 members, partly because it pushes for social and racial equity in school funding, not just teacher salaries.

• This negotiation pushes for more structural support for neighborhood schools, including more staff like social workers and librarians.
• The union just released an "Underfunded & Understaffed Tracker" that pushes back against the district's assertion that schools are adequately funded.

Between the lines: Previous Chicago administrations would negotiate over salaries but not school resources, which led to strikes and work stoppages.

• In the 2023 election, the CTU-backed Mayor Brandon Johnson was a former union employee. Johnson's victory gave the organization an ally in the mayor's office for the first time in recent Chicago history, but that hasn't helped secure a new deal.

By the numbers: CPS approved a $9.9 billion budget in July, announcing staff cuts to cover the $500 million deficit caused in part by federal pandemic funds running out.

• Most of the district's revenue comes from city property taxes, while a much lesser amount comes from state funding, which is where CTU and Johnson have been unsuccessful in lobbying Springfield for more.

What they're saying: "CPS CEO Pedro Martinez saw the fiscal cliff that the end of federal COVID-19 relief funds signified and sat on his hands as he drove the district over the edge," Davis Gates said in a Chicago Tribune op-ed .

The other side: Martinez and the Board of Education have stood pat against the mayor and the union, pushing back against the idea of borrowing money to pay for parts of the budget.

• Martinez, who has over 400 school administrators backing him, has since fended off calls for his resignation from the union and rumors that Johnson was seeking to replace him .

What's next: Negotiations are ongoing. Even though there was a contract proposal, the union says it's just a step in reaching an agreement.