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In many cases, tough choices involving labor costs lie ahead, said school finance expert Marguerite Roza. “Some districts gave out big pay raises that they’re going to have trouble affording when the money disappears. They may have hired people and they’re always reluctant to do layoffs,” she said. “Ultimately, something’s got to give.”
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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FIFO: New employees/union members will be the first to go because they have the least job protections in the contract. Makes you wonder why they are forced to pay the same amount in dues as their senior union members.
They are also the lowest paid and most likely tier 2 members. Not much savings there.
Yes, just like Mish said, (says, used to say, still says? IDK) that senior union members will always trample over the junior members. When push comes to shove, the unions only represent the highest paid senior members, and not the junior members. Unions could avoid layoff if they spread paycuts equally between members – but they do not. Unions sacrifice lower paid junior member’s jobs so that senior members can keep their high paying jobs.
The liberal media has done a horrible job of informing the residents exactly how public entities are using free Fed Covid bucks to stay afloat. Tough decisions are coming but the Dems are hoping to make it through the election before everything blows up. If the Dems don’t control Congress it’s either layoffs or big tax increases.
Bend over and pay up. Thats the price you pay for remaining in Illinois.
Quick solution: cutbacks on CTU teacher salaries, to match median salary in Illinois. CTU teachers receive amongst highest salary scales in US, while their students have consistently poor academic performances, and teachers receive no legitimate job-performance goals or assessments. CTU teacher perform CPS’s de facto “babysitting service”, warehousing students rather than educating them, with exception of selective enrollment schools which will be soon eliminated. “Keeping Students Illiterate, and Teachers Protected” should be banner motto for both CTU and CPS.
Perhaps that can be attempted during the next collective bargaining agreement. You’ll need to get the teachers to agree to such a cut so good luck with that.
Fiduciary CTU/Brandon bumped the FOP raises up to 5% from 2 to 2.5% in re-negotiated contract, he didn’t have to do that. It passed with only a few NO votes. Per BGA he has no idea how he’s going to pay for re-negotiated FOP contract like so many other things his administration’s passing….So, you have to assume CTU will be getting at minimum 5% a year raises probably with no idea or identified revenue source to pay for it except raise taxes and contract will pass with only a few NO votes as usual.
So Streeterville’s “quick solution” isn’t actually feasible or a realistic solution after all. It sounds like the voters chose a candidate that thinks these employees should make more and not less.
LOL I’ve known quite a few CPS teachers in my years, most live well beyond their means, so much so, IIRC, the union was making short term loans to striking members with no savings who freak out after one missed paycheck. The longer the strike goes on, the more incentive the teachers have to take a pay cut. They’ll come back it’s not like 10 years of teaching CPS is going to look good on a resume for a teaching job in Northbrook or Barrington i.e. this job is all they can get, anywhere. A Republican or even moderate mayor… Read more »
You have to have patience to believe that CTU will every agree to a pay cut. You keep waiting and hoping living in your fantasy land while I’ll remain in reality. While I don’t think ideas such as Streeters are realistic they do provide quite a bit of entertainment watching all the olds yell at clouds.
It’s entirely possible for the CTU to take a paycut. A conservative or normie democrat mayor, and a recession with near double digit unemployment, and several weeks of no pay. In fact, it may not even take that. Gov. Gruesome Newsom in California just got state workers to agree to a pay cut – this year – during low unenemployment and no recession, with a progressive governor. SO before you scream “AIN’T NEVER GONNA HAPPEN” Oh it will. https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article244208907.html Why did unions agree to California state worker pay cuts? Court ruling set blueprint A failed union lawsuit from a decade… Read more »
You better hope it will happen soon as CTU is about to negotiate another contract. Where is mine is correct that it will probably include a 5% RAISE. You just need to get your new mayor, school board in place before the next contract. You keep dreaming.
Yup, 5% yr minimum starting point, no collective bargaining required just like FOP contract. Politically will it look bad to hand over this giant $pay-to-play$ deal before or after convention?
Of course, he’s going to give them the kitchen sink and everything else. Those millions in campaign donations weren’t just out of the goodness of their hearts, right? Crazy to think that generations ago, business basically controlled Chicago. Yes, the machine responded to business, which kept the city running. Then business, for a myriad of reasons, lost control of the machine and the politics to the unions; and then one union rose to the top, the CTU, and now the Chicago Teachers Union is in charge of city policy. Which is really insane if you think about it. A bunch… Read more »
Yet you think it’s feasible that cuts would be on the table. I guess you meant it is “theoretically” feasible. Gotcha.
feasible /fē′zə-bəl/
adjective
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
a side note, Biden just gave fed workers a 5.2% pay raise. largest pay raise in 4 decades
Inflation is high. I would imagine most unionized workers demanded something similar.
Again, you’re moving the goal posts. You do this a lot. You specifically said that Streeterville’s idea “isn’t actually feasible or a realistic solution after all.” I said, it’s both feasible and realistic, and here’s how a progressive governor did it without a strike, and here’s how did could do it. Now, I didn’t say it was going to happen, and I didn’t even suggest it was going to happen. The question is whether it was feasible or realistic to cut CPS teacher pay. I answered your question in the affirmative. Then you move the goal posts, telling me I’m… Read more »
It’s not feasible and it won’t happen. Hopefully that clears it up for you. I didn’t move the goal post and clearly don’t believe your predictions as you are consistently wrong. Nothing new on your part.
nasty and unwarranted response
nothing new on your part either
Speaking the truth isn’t nasty Anna.
My experience in Illinois has been when teachers threaten a strike the parents demand that they, the teachers, be given what they want. Its about babysitting including welfare mothers who apparently don’t want their kids around. This applies to classroom performance as well. Its babysitting and education isn’t on the menu
Very true. The voters don’t want any discomfort so it’s very hard to negotiate when your tax base isn’t worried about the cost. It’s why cutting CPS salaries isn’t feasible. Enough voters won’t care that teachers received a 5% raise and take it out on their elected official. Give those same voters a prolonged strike and those voters will want heads on a stick. Until the voters are willing to truly engage we will get more of the same. So far I’ve seen very little to suggest otherwise. Even the current backlash against the money spent on migrants isn’t waking… Read more »
The bigger money is the pension costs that are covered by the State. The District boards hand out all these raises, but the rest of the tax payers cover their stupidity forever. Just isn’t right.
The district boards didn’t come up with the pension system. The state requires teachers to join the pension system as well as setting all the benefits. Local districts negotiate fair wages through collective bargaining rules also set by the state. It’s more than right, it’s exactly what the “rest of the tax payers” chose through voting.
The Hide-The-Ball strategy of moving debts around didn’t work for Enron, it’s not working for Biden and those guys had good lawyers. All you guys got is bought legislators and bought judges. When the bailouts stop [hopefully on 1-20-25] the debt mountain will simply have had another year’s expansion. The kicked can will bounce off Humpty Dumpty’s Wall. Insolvency will rule. Store up your pension payments while the money in the bank lasts.
No need to “store up” any pension payments. They will continue to be paid and by January 20th 2025 those pension payments will be 6.09 percent greater than what is being paid today. That 150k pensioner will instead receive $159,135. The state will have to cut elsewhere or raise taxes. Perhaps you should take your own advice and start saving. Taxes ain’t going lower.
The advice is to store up the payments that will still be made from dwindling funds in the pension trusts. Those trusts are leaking buckets with dwindling resources to meet increasing demands as COLA and new retirees appearing at the trough while their predecessors and beneficiaries continue to feed. Each of us is guessing at an unknown future — I am looking at the economic and political trajectories and you are looking at continuity of union-dominated politics and of stupid or indifferent voters. Perhaps our crystal balls are clouded by our hopes … or our stakes in the system. I’m… Read more »
No, I’m looking at the current funding levels that show pensions would be paid for at least the next two decades, along with current contract law, the ability of the state to raise taxes, as well as the current political climate. Not to mention that new pension members are tier 2 members that barely meet safe harbor rules and the state will be unable to cut those. So even if you wait out a couple of decades you won’t be able to steal from tier 2 retirees. I’m looking at past pension issues where worst case scenario pensions received a… Read more »
Lots of tier ones still to retire, no?
Illinoisans love to spend money. Laugh and the world laughs with you they say as they cheer for more spending. Little do they know that there really is no free money tree that the politicians have promised.