Chicago Teachers Union contract demands are totally divorced from reality – Wirepoints
May 8, 2024
42 Comments
Details emerging about Chicago Teachers Union’s upcoming contract show just how divorced its demands, both extreme and expensive, are from the reality at Chicago schools. It’s not just about massive salary increases, but also about money for migrant students, climate initiatives, abortions and gender-affirming care. About blocking parental notification. Count on CTU’s demands to veer further from reality until the public finally says no.
Weekly crime statistics from the Chicago Police Department: Report through 5/4/2024.
Gov. JB Pritzker calls it “ethics” reform.
It’s rare to see city leaders in Chicago take an open, unabashed stance on the collapse of literacy. To complain is deemed as too political, too racist or too anti-public schools. So it’s refreshing to see Willie Wilson, a successful businessman and leader of the black community, call for a literacy initiative “with the goal of getting 100% of Black students reading at grade level.”
Clearly it’s not worth it for most teachers to work summer school for the pittance they toss at them for the additional work. If you really wanted more teachers to choose to work summer school they could have offered up more in terms of immediate wages. The stipends offered are usually well below the respective teacher’s pay rate. If you’re not going to offer a competitive wage the only people that will take the positions are those that benefit financially long term. Since offering up a proper summer wage would bring the true cost to the forefront, we are left… Read more »
imagine thinking teachers are underpaid and deserve their pension. Ha ha ha
Imagine thinking your opinion means anything to teachers collecting their pensions. Imagine thinking taxes won’t go up to pay for contractually earned pensions. Ha ha ha. The taxpayers have been the boss the entire time. They elected our representatives and governors all this time. These same representatives shorted the pension funds to cause this crisis. The taxpayers voted to add the constitutional amendment to guarantee pensions and make it so they can’t be impaired. The Illinois taxpayers own this mess entirely. Oh well. It’s Friday so I think I’ll grill another steak tonight and drink some fine wine from my… Read more »
So then why make the salary pensionable when it only matters in the final four years of service? The point is this legislation doesn’t really solve the problem. It would have made more sense for the state to offer $500 stipends on top of what local school districts already pay a teacher for summer school. That might have move the needle more than this. In theory, this new law will attract teachers 30 years in at the top of the pay scale who would not have otherwise taught summer school. Is this an actual problem? Does a teacher with 5… Read more »
I agree nixit. Most teachers that would be willing to teach summer school are either young without kids or later in their career and their kids are out of the house or more independent. This plan does nothing to entice younger teachers and they would have been better off just paying the going rate to increase the supply of teachers. So why didn’t they? Probably because the true cost is much more than an additional $500 that you offer. If a teacher is making 50k for 10 months of work then you probably need to start offering 5 to 8… Read more »
So school districts were having issues finding summer school teachers near the end of their careers to teach summer school? Because that’s what this bill addresses. Are we to believe that teachers who had taught summer school for years/decades suddenly stop teaching summer school near retirement because that extra pay didn’t count towards their pension? Or the main driver of teachers not wanting to teach summer school wasn’t having the summer off but counting that pay towards a pension? Really?! While many teachers participate in extra-curricular activities throughout their careers, it is already a common occurrence the ones that don’t… Read more »
Fiscal Note, House Floor Amendment No. 2 (Teachers Retirement System): Actuarial cost impact. SB 1646 as amended would have an unknown impact to TRS.
UNKNOWN. And yet it passed.
We don’t need no damn actuarial study; let’s wake up the legislators sleeping, take a vote and adjourn for lunch. All in favor say “aye.”