Labor

Cheat Sheet: Chicago Public Schools

Cut through the rhetoric. Here are the facts. CPS Revenues and Expenditures Total revenues: $5,534,664,416 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total local revenues: $2,508,887,449 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total state revenues: $1,906,809,466 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total federal revenues: $1,118,976,501 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Total expenditures 2011: $5,680,099,797 (source Ilearn/ISBE) Chicago public schools will drain their cash reserves this year and will face a $1 billion shortfall during the...

By Benjamin VanMetre

Chicago public school teachers are overpaid

by Lawrence J. McQuillan, PhD Chief Economist The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is on strike to get, among other things, more pay. They originally asked for a 30 percent pay raise. The current offer on the table is a 16 percent pay hike over four years. They don’t deserve a penny increase. In fact, they deserve a...

By Chris Andriesen

John Tillman’s statement regarding Chicago Teachers Union strike

Now that Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has announced that CTU will strike Monday morning, it is very clear: Children are not the top priority for teachers who belong to the Chicago Teachers Union. The two things that matter most to these teachers are money and avoiding accountability for poor performance. Lewis and the...

Chicago Teachers Union: Unknown Unknowns

Believe it or not, late Friday afternoon the scuttlebutt was that the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union were close to agreeing on a contract. Progress was the word of the day well into Sunday. And we all know how all that turned out. Rumors, about how close the sides are to reaching an...

By Paul Kersey

Two inconvenient facts for CTU: More pay, fewer hours

Many facts are important to understanding the strike and the demands of the Chicago Teachers Union. Here are just two of them: 1. Chicago teachers are already the highest paid in the nation when compared to the 10 largest school districts in the country, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality. The salary data below cuts...

By Ted Dabrowski

Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike bulletin: Recommended strike chants

Strike chants pulled directly from Chicago Teachers Union’s strike bulletin issued on Sept. 8, 2012. What’s outrageous? unpaid wages! What’s disgusting? Union busting! Rahm, Brizard, we’re no fools! We won’t let you ruin our schools! Rahm, Brizard, we’re no fools! Corporate cash can’t buy our schools! Lies and tricks will not divide, Parents and Teachers side by...

By Chris Andriesen

Five things you need to know about Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

As of tonight, teachers in the Chicago Public Schools are expected to go on strike, and regular classes will not be held Monday morning.

Institute on ABC 7 News: Contract talks between CTU and CPS

CPS will be draining cash reserves this year just to stay afloat, and will be $1 billion in the red next school year. The 30 percent raise CTU originally asked for is out of the question.

“We are Democrats”

This will hardly come as news to most readers of this blog, but an occasional reminder is still useful: the ties between unions and the Democratic Party are numerous and strong. That goes for the Chicago Teachers Union and the administration with which they are bargaining. As Randi Weingarten, the head of the CTU’s parent...

By Paul Kersey

Scenes from Chicago Teachers Union rally in Daley Plaza

On Labor Day, the Chicago Teachers Union held its protest in preparation for a strike that is set to begin on Sept. 10, unless negotiations with Chicago Public Schools result in a contract.The protest served two functions: first, as a sort of threat display designed to demonstrate to CPS officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel that...

By Paul Kersey

Chicago Teachers Union is all worked up with nowhere to go

As thousands of families throughout Chicago watched anxiously, the process of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement turned melodramatic at a Chicago Teachers Union Labor Day rally. CTU President Karen Lewis called Mayor Rahm Emanuel “a liar and a bully”, while teachers and representatives of several other unions chanted “enough is enough” and other slogans intended...

By Paul Kersey

Roadblock to reform: How Illinois labor law empowers government unions at taxpayers’ expense

THE PROBLEM Government employee unions have become a persistent obstacle to reforming government in Illinois. At every level, and on a wide range of issues, union officials work to prevent changes that are desperately needed. In Chicago, the teachers union is has threatened a strike to prevent teachers from working a longer day. Meanwhile in...

By Paul Kersey

Remain calm when responding to CTU’s strike notice

The Chicago Teachers Union filed a 10-day strike notice Wednesday, which may tempt some Chicagoans to overreact. To some extent the teachers union is counting on this sort of reaction. They are hoping that upset parents will call on the school board to end the strike at all costs, and pressure the district into making...

By Paul Kersey

Progressive income tax: Brought to you by Illinois unions

A coalition of progressive groups is beginning to coalesce around a proposal to create a progressive income tax in Illinois. Under their plan state income tax rates will increase as one reaches higher incomes, up to a top rate of 11 percent for incomes over $1 million. This plan would leave Illinois with one of...

By Paul Kersey