After a weeklong strike, the Chicago Teachers Union will find out this afternoon whether a deal reached over the weekend is good enough to allow 350,000 students back into the classroom.
“We believe this is a good contract, however, no contract will solve all of the inequities in our district," CTU president Karen Lewis said in a statement late Saturday night after thousands of teachers from Chicago and beyond rallied at a Near West Side park.
But she added, “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."
The union's House of Delegates is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. today to go over the deal and decide whether to end the strike. Officials have said they hope students would be back in the classroom by Monday.
The union finally released details of the proposed deal just before midnight. It calls for a three-year contract, with an option for a fourth year that both the district and union would have to agree to. There would be a 3 percent raises in years one and four, and 2 percent raises in years two and three, according to the union.
So-called "step and lane" increases, raises given out for years of service and continuing education, would be preserved under the contract, according to the union. And the three highest steps would be increased.
The union also said it had come to an agreement on the sticky issues of performance reviews and teacher recall when schools close. Standards for teacher evaluations that could lead to firings would be eased, and some higher-rated teachers could get a better shot at being recalled after layoffs, sources said.
The mayor did get the longer school day he fought for, though six of 181 days in school because half days during negotiations, sources said. And principals will still have significant power in hiring teachers, they added.
Other details of the proposed contract, according to the union:
• The school board decided not to pursue “differentiated compensation,” which would have one set of teachers to be paid differently than another set.
• The hiring of more than 500 teachers in art, music, physical education, world languages and other classes "to ensure students receive a better school day."
• A hiring pool that requires one-half of all of CPS hires must be laid-off members.
• Teachers will be allowed the option to “follow their students” when schools are closed. Also, "the contract will also have 10 months of true recall to the same school if a position opens.
• In evaluations, 70 percent will be based on "teacher practice” and 30 percent on "student growth.”
• The hiring of nurses, social workers and school counselors when the board "gets new revenue."
• A guarantee that CPS students and educators will have textbooks on the first day of classes and "will not have to wait up to six weeks for learning materials."
“This union has proven the Chicago labor movement is neither dormant nor dead,” Lewis said in releasing the details. “We showed our solidarity and our strength, and with this new contract we have solidified our political power and captured the imagination of the nation. No one will ever look upon a teacher and think of him or her as a passive, person to be bullied and walked on ever again.”
While the two sides worked out the terms in private, the Saturday afternoon rally was filled with symbolism. Out-of-state teachers traveled to Union Park in solidarity with a city teachers union that has attracted national attention as organized labor looks for lessons in a fight with cash-strapped government.
Representatives from teachers unions in Wisconsin and Minnesota spoke, as did the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Lorretta Johnson, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Teachers
"I remember in Baltimore, we had a 95 percent strike, but it didn't look like this," Johnson said, referencing the 90 percent support Chicago's strike vote got. "You have proven to the world that you're not going to take it anymore.
"The challenge was to stand up for the children, and you have done that."
Union officials on Friday hoped for as many as 50,000 to show their support Saturday. Instead, a crowd that police put at 2,500 jammed into a corner of the park to chant, shout and march in support of a strike they say is about securing the best learning conditions for students.
The smaller turnout was perhaps indicative that the union's agreement to a framework with the district -- paired with a long week of picketing -- left many teachers deciding to stay home. Lewis kept the rhetorical pressure on, however, seeking to avoid losing leverage as details were hammered out.
Lewis offered a warning in advance of an anticipated House of Delegates vote Sunday."A woman came up to me and said she got a text from her principal telling her faculty to report to work tomorrow and Monday to prepare their rooms, and what I want to tell you is, we're still on strike," Lewis said as the crowd cheered.
"We have the framework for an agreement. We don't have an agreement. So, until you hear it from CTU ..."
"It's not true!" teachers shouted back.
On Sunday, union leaders have the task of selling the deal to members, many of whom have rallied for months over double-digit salary increases for working a longer school day and getting better school conditions.
A vote to end the strike would cap a week of demonstrations that included pickets of schools across the city and outside the offices of aldermen who opposed the strike; rallies of thousands of teachers and supporters who encircled City Hall and brought Loop traffic nearly to a halt; and negotiating sessions that sometimes began one morning and extended into the wee hours of the next.
During the week, Emanuel was called a bully and a liar by teachers, Lewis was verbally reprimanded by district officials for describing negotiations as "silly," and pundits across the nation weighed in.
The strike drew widespread attention because it highlights prominent issues such as the changing status of teachers unions and efforts to reform public education. Politics also came into play: Emanuel is a former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, and the strike is in the president's hometown.
As all of that played out in public, negotiators were battling behind closed doors over raises, how teachers are evaluated and the process under which they could be rehired if they are laid off when schools close or consolidate.
What remains to be seen, even if the strike ends Sunday, is how the agreement affects future relations between the union and mayor as the board struggles to find ways to afford the new raises, faces a projected $1 billion deficit in the 2014 school year and contemplates scores of school closings.
Money can be saved over the long run by closing schools or enrolling more students in privately run charter schools, which generally operate at lower costs and often receive outside funding.
The contract blueprint "doesn't limit the growth of charters, or the closure or consolidation of existing schools that will have to take place down the road," said Ald. Patrick O'Connor, 40th, the mayor's City Council floor leader.
Tribune reporters Ryan Haggerty, Jennifer Delgado, Joel Hood, Kristen Mack and John Byrne contributed.
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Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking
“We believe this is a good contract, however, no contract will solve all of the inequities in our district," CTU president Karen Lewis said in a statement late Saturday night after thousands of teachers from Chicago and beyond rallied at a Near West Side park.
But she added, “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."
The union's House of Delegates is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. today to go over the deal and decide whether to end the strike. Officials have said they hope students would be back in the classroom by Monday.
The union finally released details of the proposed deal just before midnight. It calls for a three-year contract, with an option for a fourth year that both the district and union would have to agree to. There would be a 3 percent raises in years one and four, and 2 percent raises in years two and three, according to the union.
So-called "step and lane" increases, raises given out for years of service and continuing education, would be preserved under the contract, according to the union. And the three highest steps would be increased.
The union also said it had come to an agreement on the sticky issues of performance reviews and teacher recall when schools close. Standards for teacher evaluations that could lead to firings would be eased, and some higher-rated teachers could get a better shot at being recalled after layoffs, sources said.
The mayor did get the longer school day he fought for, though six of 181 days in school because half days during negotiations, sources said. And principals will still have significant power in hiring teachers, they added.
Other details of the proposed contract, according to the union:
• The school board decided not to pursue “differentiated compensation,” which would have one set of teachers to be paid differently than another set.
• The hiring of more than 500 teachers in art, music, physical education, world languages and other classes "to ensure students receive a better school day."
• A hiring pool that requires one-half of all of CPS hires must be laid-off members.
• Teachers will be allowed the option to “follow their students” when schools are closed. Also, "the contract will also have 10 months of true recall to the same school if a position opens.
• In evaluations, 70 percent will be based on "teacher practice” and 30 percent on "student growth.”
• The hiring of nurses, social workers and school counselors when the board "gets new revenue."
• A guarantee that CPS students and educators will have textbooks on the first day of classes and "will not have to wait up to six weeks for learning materials."
“This union has proven the Chicago labor movement is neither dormant nor dead,” Lewis said in releasing the details. “We showed our solidarity and our strength, and with this new contract we have solidified our political power and captured the imagination of the nation. No one will ever look upon a teacher and think of him or her as a passive, person to be bullied and walked on ever again.”
While the two sides worked out the terms in private, the Saturday afternoon rally was filled with symbolism. Out-of-state teachers traveled to Union Park in solidarity with a city teachers union that has attracted national attention as organized labor looks for lessons in a fight with cash-strapped government.
Representatives from teachers unions in Wisconsin and Minnesota spoke, as did the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Lorretta Johnson, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Teachers
"I remember in Baltimore, we had a 95 percent strike, but it didn't look like this," Johnson said, referencing the 90 percent support Chicago's strike vote got. "You have proven to the world that you're not going to take it anymore.
"The challenge was to stand up for the children, and you have done that."
Union officials on Friday hoped for as many as 50,000 to show their support Saturday. Instead, a crowd that police put at 2,500 jammed into a corner of the park to chant, shout and march in support of a strike they say is about securing the best learning conditions for students.
The smaller turnout was perhaps indicative that the union's agreement to a framework with the district -- paired with a long week of picketing -- left many teachers deciding to stay home. Lewis kept the rhetorical pressure on, however, seeking to avoid losing leverage as details were hammered out.
Lewis offered a warning in advance of an anticipated House of Delegates vote Sunday."A woman came up to me and said she got a text from her principal telling her faculty to report to work tomorrow and Monday to prepare their rooms, and what I want to tell you is, we're still on strike," Lewis said as the crowd cheered.
"We have the framework for an agreement. We don't have an agreement. So, until you hear it from CTU ..."
"It's not true!" teachers shouted back.
On Sunday, union leaders have the task of selling the deal to members, many of whom have rallied for months over double-digit salary increases for working a longer school day and getting better school conditions.
A vote to end the strike would cap a week of demonstrations that included pickets of schools across the city and outside the offices of aldermen who opposed the strike; rallies of thousands of teachers and supporters who encircled City Hall and brought Loop traffic nearly to a halt; and negotiating sessions that sometimes began one morning and extended into the wee hours of the next.
During the week, Emanuel was called a bully and a liar by teachers, Lewis was verbally reprimanded by district officials for describing negotiations as "silly," and pundits across the nation weighed in.
The strike drew widespread attention because it highlights prominent issues such as the changing status of teachers unions and efforts to reform public education. Politics also came into play: Emanuel is a former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, and the strike is in the president's hometown.
As all of that played out in public, negotiators were battling behind closed doors over raises, how teachers are evaluated and the process under which they could be rehired if they are laid off when schools close or consolidate.
What remains to be seen, even if the strike ends Sunday, is how the agreement affects future relations between the union and mayor as the board struggles to find ways to afford the new raises, faces a projected $1 billion deficit in the 2014 school year and contemplates scores of school closings.
Money can be saved over the long run by closing schools or enrolling more students in privately run charter schools, which generally operate at lower costs and often receive outside funding.
The contract blueprint "doesn't limit the growth of charters, or the closure or consolidation of existing schools that will have to take place down the road," said Ald. Patrick O'Connor, 40th, the mayor's City Council floor leader.
Tribune reporters Ryan Haggerty, Jennifer Delgado, Joel Hood, Kristen Mack and John Byrne contributed.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking