Less Oversight?

Chicago Pension Board Votes to Drastically Cut Back on Public Meetings

By Jim Vail

Maria J. Rodriguez was the only pension trustee to vote
against drastically cutting back the number of CTPF public meetings.

The Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund Board of Trustees voted to cut in half the number of public meetings in order to accommodate the trustees who would like to attend conferences.

Pension officials said efficiency will allow the fund to drastically limit the number of public meetings needed to discuss the business of a $12 billion fund that manages the retirement money for Chicago Teachers Union members.

CTPF Chief Legal Counsel Daniel Hurtado told the board at the January meeting that the number of public meetings will be cut from 11 to 6 per year in order to accommodate the 22 days of paid leave trustees are granted from the Chicago Board of Education.

Board President Jeffery Blackwell made the motion that was seconded by VP Mary Sharon-Reilly. The only trustee to vote against cutting back CTPF public board meetings was Maria Rodriguez, while Phil Weiss and Tina Padilla abstained. All the other trustees voted in favor of the motion with little discussion.

Trustee Weiss has been battling the Chicago Public Schools over the number of days trustees are granted during the year to conduct pension board business. He has said 22 days is not enough time to attend all the board meetings, committee board meetings and conferences. However, Trustee Miguel Del Valle, who also serves as the President of the Chicago Board of Education, has said repeatedly that CPS will not grant any more time off for trustees working in the schools.

Weiss, however, was skeptical about cutting the number of public meetings.

"We need adequate time to conduct the business of the fund," Weiss said.    

Tina Padilla asked to table the motion so that they could poll CTU members to see how many would like to see committee meetings and board meetings in the evening so they can attend. She suggested half of board meetings be held during the day, and the other half held in the evening for more public participation.

The public have complained that the Chicago Board of Education meetings that are held monthly on Wednesdays starting in the morning are not convenient to the public who must work. CPS had agreed to hold some board meetings in local high schools and changed the time to accommodate more people. However, the board meetings are once again during the day.

At one point in the meeting Weiss battled with Trustee Dwayne Truss, who represents the Chicago Mayor and CPS. Weiss criticized Truss for quickly supporting a motion that would put a lot more stress on Weiss who chairs the Investment Committee, while Truss serves on no committees.

"I have a lot of mixed feelings," Weiss said. "I'm on so many committee meetings. Truss, how many did you attend? We're under a great deal of stress in the schools. There is no flexibility from the legal dept. I'm disappointed."

Committee Chairpersons are appointed by the President Jeffery Blackwell, while other Trustees are not appointed to distribute the weight of the responsibilities. Trustees have the option of accepting or declining appointment roles. 

Truss told Weiss he would prefer to air their differences behind closed doors. He then defended himself stating that he too has a full-time job and family responsibilities so he understands the time constraints.

VP Reilly who has served as a trustee for over 25 years said at one point they had no days off to attend pension meetings, and sometimes they did not get out until 11pm. Trustees were not granted days off from their classrooms to attend Board meetings back then.

"I think we should try this and see how this works," she said. "Nothing is set in stone."

Blackwell said he was "kind of on the fence," but he mistakenly thought the vote was about the number of days off in a year for trustees, which the board attorney corrected him on to state this was only about cutting the number of public meetings.

Trustee Rodriguez said she was concerned that all members' issues may not be addressed in a timely manner and important votes will be curtailed due to the decrease in public meetings.

After Padilla asked to table the question, Trustee Victor Ochoa, who was just elected on the Members First ticket, wanted to call the question and proceed to a quick vote. New Core elected Trustee Quentin Washington said nothing. Both voted in favor of cutting public pension board meetings.

The scheduled public board meetings for 2022 are Feb. 17, April 21, June 16, Oct. 20, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15.

Real Thang?

Is REAL the Real Thang?

By Jim Vail

There are now three teacher caucuses competing in the Chicago Teachers Union May 20 president election.

The new caucus REAL (Respect, Educate, Advocate, Lead) is made up of former Core members who will join opposition group Members First to challenge Core in the union election.

"We have a slate in this election and we intend to win," stated Joe Linehan, who was a long-time Core union activist. "We feel CORE has gotten too disconnected from the daily life in the schools as officers have been in the union offices for years."

He told Second City Teachers that their members, including several who serve on the CTU's Executive Board, feel Core has strayed from the ideals it once preached. 

"A lot of us were in the early days of CORE including several founding members, but our focus isn't on CORE as much as it is on what OUR caucus principles bring to the table."

They pledge to open the books to show the members the finances, something Core has been loath to do. Members First has been demanding to open the CTU Foundation books so members know how much money is being spent and where. 

Linehan said they first started with about 20 people and over 50 people showed up to their next meeting with hundreds more signed up on facebook.

"I'm amazed at how fast things are blowing up," he wrote on fb. "We continue to believe that our biggest weapon is our ability to mobilize. Many of us were part of the push to bring an organizing model of unionism to CTU and that is where we see our future."

REAL founding member Katie Osgood first aimed her ire at Core on social media: 

"Power & money have a funny way of shifting priorities," she tweeted on Feb. 12. "We know the pull of bureaucracy even on the most well-intentioned people. Union leadership is out of touch w/members, pulling in large salaries, using members as tools in political games.... this is the slide to business unionism."

"Where we organically engage with communities, rather than simply  giving money to the non-profit industrial complex and labeling that 'community.' The little leagues, the places of worship, the local neighborhood groups. Because our members are already there!"

Then she fired a bullet at Members First:

"Members First developed out of this discontent - I want to say around 2016 and the settlement of the weak 2016 contract. They weren't very articulate or organized, but they were real members voicing concerns. The troubling part to me is... they are coming to incorrect conclusions. The discontent is real. And now we see what's filling that vacuum. A Members First that is becoming more & more reactionary. Telling members we will never strike again. Pulling us to a more conservative form of unionism. That is the wrong conclusion!" 

Will Real take votes from Core or Members First and upset everyone? 

CORE played the spoiler role 12 years ago when they upset the ruling UPC party who was also divided. 

A split in the UPC ruling party resulted in five caucuses running - VP Ted Dallas (who was fired), Field Rep Ted Hajiharis, Pact and former CTU President Debbie Lynch and Core's Karen Lewis.

UPC and Core went to a run-off and the other caucuses who lost in the first round pledged their support for Core who ended up defeating the long-time union leader UPC.

Can this happen again? 

Sit back, buckle up and enjoy the rocky road ahead in CTU union politics!

Special HOD

Report on the Special Meeting of the House of Delegates to deal with outside interference in CTU elections held on February 16, 2022

By George Milkowski

The meeting was called to seek approval of a resolution from the Executive Board titled “Resolution Condemning Outside Interference in CTU Elections”.  The resolution was developed because of an ad last week on social media from “Chicago Teachers United” supporting one caucus in the upcoming Union election in May.  There was also support expressed for that one caucus by the Democratic Party of DC, (whatever that is).  The ad was traced back to a Lisa Schnieder Fabes, a woman from Wilmette who had supported Lori Lightfoot for mayor.  Schneider Fabes had a job in the early days of the Lightfoot administration but quit when it was discovered that she was not a Chicago resident as required by law for her position.  Once the source of the ads was exposed, the ads were pulled.

Jesse made it clear that there is no evidence that would indicate collusion between Chicago Teachers United and any caucus in the Union but he said the Executive Board felt action was needed to stress and maintain the democratic nature of CTU elections.

Thad Goodchild, CTU lawyer, said the ads apparently violated federal law – the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act – and State law- the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.  Both laws prohibit interference in union elections from outside sources whether the interference is via cash or in-kind contributions.  

In the discussion that followed Mary Esposito (Executive Board) argued the resolution didn’t go far enough; the CTU logo was used illegally by a caucus or individual and that was not addressed in the “resolves”.  She wanted to amend it.  Jesse agreed that Union personnel, money, or other resources, including the CTU logo, cannot be used in a partisan way in CTU elections but he ruled her out of order as she wanted it to be amended but did not have an amendment to present to the House.  Deborah Yaker – Hanson Park – asked what can be done to those who do use the CTU logo.  She specifically named Jackson Potter of Back of the Yard High School as having done so.  Jesse said that the Union can ask the person not to do it again; that many people at Union meetings have hats, shirts, and so on with unauthorized Union logos on them.  Karen Soto – Waters School – favors the resolution.  The actions taken to date to get involved in our election indicates that the powers that be are worried about the strength of the CTU.  Terra Sinkevicius – Bright School – wondered why we needed a special meeting for this.  Vice president Stacy Davis Gates responded that we need to protect the Union from Lightfoot if she or her surrogates attempt to interfere again.

There was a motion to extend debate but it failed, 65-44% so we voted on the Resolution itself, which then passed 94-6%.  I voted in favor of it.

Then we entered Question and Answers.  I wanted ask if State and federal law have been violated, what can be done to get those responsible.  However, I motion to adjourn was proposed and passed 83-17% so I never had the chance to ask.

Corporate Media

Mainstream Media Dive Into Teachers Union Election

By Jim Vail

Kristen McQueary, wrote an editorial for the Chicago Tribune
where she wished Chicagoians would drown in a hurricane
so that the city would be rid of public schools.

The Chicago mainstream media have jumped headfirst into the Chicago Teachers Union election this spring.

And they are divided on who they support.

The Members First caucus sent out press releases to the city's media that resulted in impressive coverage to highlight why they believe the CTU needs new leadership.

The Chicago Tribune ran an editorial denouncing the Core-led CTU leadership, NBC interviewed two MF candidates, and WTTW TV reported that MF hired a professional campaign manager.

These corporate media titans faithfully reported MF complaints that the union is too political and has ordered too many work stoppages.

The Chicago Tribune was especially vocal on unseating a teachers union that has been a bitter enemy of the mayor who represents business interests. 

"'The current leadership of the CTU sees work stoppages and strikes as the first step, and not the last one,' (the Member's First) video's narrator says. 'They are far more focused on being in front of the camera and advancing their own political careers than delivering for us.' We'd say we couldn't have said it better, except we've been saying exactly that for many years."

Sarah Karp, WBEZ

However, the Core-led CTU leadership has its own corporate media support.

The Sun-Times and WBEZ, who recently acquired the Sun-Times, posted an article to denounce the Members First caucus. The article written by Sun-Times Nader Issa and WBEZ reporter Sarah Karp reported that a former top adviser to Mayor Lori Lightfoot was behind a paid social media campaign supporting Members First in the upcoming election.

The article stated further that employer involvement in union elections violates federal labor law and the CTU prohibits those running for leadership from seeking outside financial support. The Mayor's office quickly denied any involvement in the election. 

Members First did not respond to the allegations in the article. 

No other media who reported on the MF press release announcing their slate picked up this story. That included the Chicago Tribune whose 'mission is to deliver the truth every day.'

The Sun-Times and WBEZ did not report on the MF announcement about their slate that is challenging the current leadership.

Members First and Core are playing the pr game by appealing to the ruler's medium in order to reach as many people as they can. 

The Chicago Tribune is a vicious anti-union and anti-public education newspaper. They wrote a very ugly editorial in 2015 where they wished for a Hurricane Katrina in Chicago so that the Chicago public schools would be wiped out and replaced with privatized charter schools like in New Orleans. No self-respecting teacher should listen to anything their editorials tout.

But the Sun-Times and WBEZ are no fans of public education and unions as well. Sarah Karp repeatedly reports that Civic Federation President Lawrence Msall represents a 'non-partisan' group. That is quite laughable; the Civic Federation represents the richest businessmen in this city who also hate unions, taxes and pensions. WBEZ interviewed an education professor last summer who touted charter schools and why they need to replace public schools.

Chicago Public Media who bought the Sun-Times are, like the CTU, committed to racial justice reporting and police abuse. However, they are no different when it comes to reporting on crime that calls for more policing, pro-business stories and pro-war propaganda. 

Playing into the corporate media circus will only further confuse teachers and the rest of us about the real issues we face. 

Student loan crisis

What’s Happening—and Not Happening—with the Federal Student Loans: The Democrats’ Side of the Chamber

 

By Thomas Hansen, Ph.D.

 

It is time once again to look at where things are on the pressing topic of the federal student loan balances, who thinks what, and what might happen.  The student loan cancellation movement is very much located on the Democrat’s side of the chamber.  President Biden made it clear in his campaign he intended to cancel $10,000 of each borrower’s balance. 

A drop in the ocean—as we all know—the $10K cancel does almost nothing to alleviate the pain, the suffering, and in some cases the solvency of the great majority of the borrowers.  In the meantime, there is no immediate sign of a cancellation of any amount.

Last summer, loan balances were cancelled by the Biden Administration for students who had been duped by for-profit colleges (https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/politics/biden-student-loan-debt-cancellation/index.html) that produce no results, but are happy to charge high fees.  These are institutions in the tradition of the Trump notion of higher education being a glorified and money-making business focused heavily on high-cost vocational education as opposed to education focused on research and inquiry.       

Forgiveness Programs.  There is really not much new for educators in this arena.  New forgiveness plans impact healthcare workers and others, but not teachers.  From what sense the author can make of the forgiveness language, your average professor of history or high school guidance counselor who went back to get an advanced degree reaps no benefit whatsoever from the forgiveness programs as laid out. 

The Biden Administration is very proud of the new forgiveness protocols, and they are warning lenders to communicate details correctly and clearly to borrowers (https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2022/01/27/student-loan-forgiveness-expansion-biden-official-warns-loan-companies-of-consequences-for-misleading-borrowers/?sh=5929be4b2911).   

The Memo.  President Joe Biden made news when he told of the research he wanted done to “explore” his ability to cancel student loan debt, pulling in various players to do so—including the US Department of Education and the US Department of Justice—to help in the creation of a special memo (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/biden-administration-explores-options-for-canceling-student-debt.html). 

Since those days, a memo has been discovered but nothing has come of it.  At the start a tool that was going to be very helpful the memo lost its magical powers, with President Biden’s administration playing the memo down and apparently hoping everyone will just forget about it.

However, lead Democrats want to see the memo—and they are demanding President Biden release it immediately (https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/26/democrats-biden-memo-student-debt-cancellation-00002193).     

Navient.  The largest of the three lenders who agreed to get out of the student loan business, Navient seems to be the most despicable and disgusting of the lot.  They have just been forced to make amends to over 66,000 borrowers.  Incredibly big news, the story made it to the New York Times.  The term used to tell what Navient has done is “predatory lending.”  To avoid spending too much time and resources on litigation about how terribly they have misled, overcharged, harassed, and threatened borrowers, in some cases counseling them into expensive forbearance programs instead of other routes, they have settled and have to make amends (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/business/navient-student-loans.html).  Navient will pay a few borrowers $260 and will excuse the loans of more than 66,000 borrowers—worth $1.7 billion.  

Again, a relatively small number of borrowers will receive that check for $260—and they will not receive it until this summer.

It seems as though Illinois borrowers—the Prairie State is one of the ones that sued Navient—should contact the office of our Attorney General Kwame Raoul to find out if you are on the excused list or the $260 list.  Here is the link recommended:
https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/student_lending.html  and borrowers can call the Attorney General's Student Loan Helpline and speak to someone directly about receiving help: 1 (800) 455-2456.

US Representative (D-NY) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).  Known also as AOC, Representative Ocasio-Cortez has made it very clear she supports major cancellations of student loan balances and has just repeated this forcefully in today’s article based on an interview with her on Yahoo Finance News (https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/aoc-calls-education-costs-moral-hazard-135917568.html). 

President Joe Biden.  Campaigning for the 2020 election, President Biden did state he thought the $10,000 cancel made sense and so set himself up to be held to this commitment by people desperate to get out from under at least some of the burden of the loans.  However, as of today, February 1^st, 2022, he has still not made that move.  He has stated, including when he took office a year ago, that he does not want to cancel $50,000 worth of each loan balance (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/17/biden-says-he-will-not-support-50k-in-student-debt-forgiveness.html). 

Taxpayers.  Opinions range greatly among taxpayers—who are also voters.  Some conservatives insist all borrowers should pay back the loans.  Some insist all borrowers should pay back the loans because they had to pay back theirs (https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2021/11/17/you-paid-student-loans-but-didnt-get-any-student-loan-forgiveness/?sh=75befddf159a).

Taxpayers Who Voted for Biden.  The Biden Administration must be keeping in mind who elected Biden.  One huge voting block is African-Americans.  They voted for Biden, and there are some of them who said they would probably do so again.  However, it is important to not forget some Blacks have student loans, and they as college graduates have them with disproportionate figures.  Another important issue is that student loan default among Blacks is running already at almost twice the percentage of loans in default among Whites (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/19/surging-college-loan-debt-having-disproportionate-impact-on-blacks.html).

In other words, Blacks are going to want relief from student loans already on the books and in danger of going into default.  A recent article in Bloomberg Equality reminds the reader that Black wealth could be impacted by as much as a 40 percent gain (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-20/calls-for-biden-to-cancel-50-000-student-debt-could-boost-black-wealth-by-40).        

US Senator (D-NY) Chuck Schumer.  Senator Schumer has made it clear from the beginning he hopes President Biden will cancel $50,000 of each student loan.  He has been on Twitter since December, urging the president to go ahead and make those cancellations through the use of an executive order (https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/schumer-biden-cancel-student-loans-2022).

US Senator (D-MA) Elizabeth Warren.  “If there is $50,000 of student loan cancellation, 36 million people wouldn’t owe any federal student loan debt.”   Reported by Zack Friedman of Forbes, that is the point Senator Elizabeth Warren wants you to get. At a townhall meeting Thursday, Warren said Biden must cancel student loans “immediately” and thereby provide “permanent total relief” (https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2022/01/30/student-loan-forgiveness-of-50000-would-cancel-student-loans-for-36-million-people/?sh=4a36d9457513).  So Senator Warren is holding to her support for the $50K cancel, clearly.

Vice President Kamala Harris.  Since the beginning of her campaign, Vice President Harris has talked about $20,000 in cancellations per student loan and not talked about cancellations to all students across the board (https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2022/01/08/what-kamala-harris-means-for-your-student-loans/?sh=efedd1f57245).  She has proposed new forgiveness protocols and rules, and she has emphasized the importance of looking at how the students from the lowest-income backgrounds can be assisted by loan cancellations and reductions.

Vice President Harris has recently been quoted as “getting” the student loan problem because she herself took out student loans (https://www.businessinsider.com/student-debt-forgiveness-kamala-harris-charlamagne-tha-god-crisis-real-2021-12).  Raised in California, Harris attended Howard University and then went back to California to attend law school (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris).  

What’s Next.  There will be another Chicago-based letter-writing campaign to ask President Biden to cancel the loan balances entirely.  The idea among some of us education advocates has been to ask for total cancellation of the balances with the plan to accept the $50K cancel.  Although many of us in education are not thrilled with that idea, we have decided we could live with that.  (Educators wishing to receive an email about the letter-writing campaign may sign on by writing to the author at: tlhansen1@yahoo.com).    

Another aspect to this whole student loan situation is the element of reality.  Nobody has ever voiced this question that is painfully obvious to us:  Do the naysayers on loan cancellation think that holding out and making everyone pay their loans back realize that many simply cannot?  The number of people defaulting could be staggering. 

How are things in the world of student loan default and repayment currently?  Here are some figures which may startle the reader: 7.8% of all student loans are already in default currently, $124.4 billion worth of student loans are in default, over a million student loans enter default each year, and student loan defaults affect 9 million borrowers and their families (https://educationdata.org/student-loan-default-rate#:~:text=One%20out%20of%20every%20ten,is%20in%20defaulted%20student%20loans.).

Whatsoever at the Same Time.  Whatever happens may rely on other things happening at the time.  For example, if we wind up in a skirmish with Russia or North Korea, President Biden might be able to convince some conservatives it is best to relieve the burden of those families who have sent their members off to war.  In other words, if we are at war, perhaps that is a good argument for cancellation.

If there is some other huge pandemic development in the upcoming days before May 1^st, such as another variant of the virus, that could be a good argument for cancellation also.  Higher infection rates, mutations in the virus, vaccination rates that are still much too low, conspiracy theories that confuse all the important issues, and cockamamie reasons for not wearing the masks over your nose on the bus or train are all contributors to a world still welcoming the virus to embrace victims, sicken them, and in many cases kill them.  More of this kind of stuff should make people realize the loan balances should be cancelled.   

However, there are many of us who believe that the pandemic is already terrible enough to start with as of the beginning of February, 2022, and that the notion some people have to actually try to pay back those old loans from pre-COVID-19 days is ridiculous and mean-spirited.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.  At a recent event, Jen Psaki may have provided us a hint of the way the student loan cancellations may get done: a bill signed by both houses and sent to the president.  Psaki responded this way when asked about the likelihood of Biden cancelling (any) amount of the student loan balances: ‘If Congress sends him a bill, he's happy to sign it.  They haven't sent him a bill on that yet.’  Jen Psaki told a reporter this and some were not happy to hear her response, saying they found her “cavalier”  (Kamala Harris tells Charlamagne tha God the student debt crisis 'is real' and 'we need to deal with it' while avoiding his question about Biden's campaign promise to forgive $10,000 per borrower).

What they perhaps did not hear is that Joe Biden may be sitting back, waiting for somebody else to do the work—like bringing him that bill.  And then he can sign it.  Maybe the extension to May 1^st will give Congress enough time to work their magic. 

Who We Are and What We Can Do.  We educators can write letters, first to the Oval Office and then start sending notes to Congress again, and as we have done several times in the last year. 

We will persevere—the educators among us—to try to get some relief at least for the teachers, professors, staff members, and administrators at all levels of education who have not been offered good and relevant forgiveness programs and who should not have to pay back loans when professionals in other fields have had their loans excused.

PROFESSORS WINS UNFAIR DISMISSAL CASE!

By Stephen Wilson

 

 

A 60 year old Professor, Dr Annette  Plaut who had worked at Exeter University in Britain has won her unfair dismissal case. 

The Tribunal found that she had been unfairly dismissed. They called for the University to award her 100,000 pounds in compensation.  The court declared it 'difficult to imagine the depth of humiliation, hurt, stress and worry for Plaut after she was suspended. Every aspect of her life and future was at risk and for no good reason ... The good things she had done over the years were given no weight.' 

However, the tribunal refused to order her reinstatement to her work on the grounds it was not feasible due to a hard line opposition within the Human Resources department as well as from some academics. They rejected the claims that she had been dismissed due to sexual and racial discrimination. But they backed up her claim that she had been victimized and suffered harassment. Exeter University declared it would challenge this verdict.

 

The Doctor, who had worked at the university for 29 years, had been issued with two warnings and then fired from her post in 2019. Under what pretext was Doctor Plaut dismissed? The university claimed she had offended two PhD students for shouting loudly at them and being boisterous and 'overbearing'. They stated "Over the years some colleagues and some students have found this somewhat overbearing despite telling her students and colleagues that 'she means nothing by it'. She had an argumentative and marmite character which alienated some people. The University were at pains to point out that her dismissal had nothing to do with the fact she was female and Jewish.

 

This is not how Doctor Plaut sees things. She believes "I have a natural loud voice. As such I have no ability to sense when I am speaking loudly".She claims that her loud voice is a perfectly natural and acceptable way to speak in the Middle East, in Eastern European Jewish circles and in New York and Germany. When she worked in New York and Germany her voice was not an issue. She claimed she was fired for being female and Jewish. She accused the University of being  'Institutionally unconsciously biased.' She stated that due to the stress of this case she has had to take medication to cut untold stress.

 

What are we to make of all this ? It sounds a bizarre case. The Doctor had worked at this University for 29 years ! One wonders why this wasn't an issue 29 ,20 or ten years ago? Why was she dismissed only a couple of years ago? One can hardly be forgiven for suspecting this conflict arose from some personal conflict rather than logical principles. The reasons for dismissal come across as 'too personal' as if suggesting some colleagues and students 'don't like her'. And should a teacher be fired for having a too argumentative style ? Is n't academic freedom based on arguments as well as discussion? Doctor Plaut claimed she is simply passionate about her subject.

 

Then they claim she speaks loudly sounding overbearing and boisterous. But should a teacher be fired for speaking loudly or shouting at students? This would mean that in Russian schools teachers would be fired en mass. And some teachers are actually fired on this 'pretext' when the real reason is 'personal'.  A Russian father who was a student of mine once told me he went to a primary school to meet a headmistress to complain about one school teacher who shouted at her daughter. He told the headmistress 'Could you ask the teacher to stop shouting loudly at my daughter as it upsets her?" The headmistress called the teacher to her office in front of the parents and asked "Can you promise not to shout at the pupils ?" The teacher answered "But it is not personal. I don't pick on this pupil. I shout at all my pupils ! " Whether this teacher was dismissed we will never know. In this case the head mistress felt sorry for the teacher so may have just left things as it was. But it does appear that people who talk loudly can often inadvertently alienate people. And they are unaware of this. For instance talking loudly in the Moscow Metro is frowned upon. I recall that when a colleague from San Francisco was speaking loudly the faces of the passengers were struck with horror. There was an unwritten rule that passengers should not speak loudly. When Jim Vail and I were once talking loudly in the kitchen in the morning at our mother in law's home in Moscow, a neighbor approached me to complain we were speaking too loudly.

 

It took me some time to get used to the fact that if an officer in the Army Cadets shouted loudly at you he meant no offence or aimed to humiliate you. I did not grasp this at first until my Aunt Betty told me "Those officers have no malice when they shout loudly. It is part of their job. When they are off duty they are very nice." That was the experience of my aunt and my own in the Army Cadet force. Most of the officers were kind  and helpful. It is therefore easy for someone with a loud voice to be misunderstood and misconstrued.

 

It is absurd that a teacher should be dismissed on spurious grounds like personal mannerisms such as her voice or even personal  delivery. Should a teacher be fired because some people simply don't like her or him? It seems a highly absurd reason but that is the reality that many teachers at university and schools face. Doctor Annette Plaut does not deserve such unpleasant treatment. Nobody does ! The court should have reinstated her to her post. By doing this the court would be sending a powerful message to school and universities that a teacher must not be dismissed for personal reasons such as  whether they are likable or not!  This petty office politics can not  be allowed to ruin the careers of passionate teachers. Doctor Annette Plaut deserves better!

Feb. HOD

Report of the Meeting of the House of Delegates February 2, 2022

By George Milkowski

I. Officers Reports

A.  Recording Secretary - Christel Williams-Hayes – Christel’s report was very brief.  She announced that the CTU will be hosting a meeting for PSRPs in the next week or so although the date is still being worked out.

B.  Financial report – Kathy Catalano – Kathy reminded the Delegates that about 53% of all our dues are “pass throughs” to our affiliates and that are normal expenses are about $1.3 million every month. Our current deficit is $3,515,718 but that figure is $588,326 less than expected in our projected budget for this time of the fiscal year.

Kathy also said the deadline to apply for the $480 interest free lockout loans from the AFT is this week Friday, February 4, 2022.  Applications can be accessed at ctulocal1.org/Loan.

C.  Charter Division – Chris Baehrend – Chris reported that all 13 charter school systems have active safety agreements although some are approaching their expiration dates.

D.  Financial Secretary – Maria Moreno - Union membership is at 28,223, up 357 over last month and retiree membership is up 33 to 1,610.

Maria announced there are some vacancies in Citywide positions and there will be a Zoom meeting on February 22 for members in the various Citywide groups to nominate members to fill those positions.

The CTU election for officers and delegates to the AFT/IFT conventions will be May 20. 

There will no longer be any paper sample ballots.  There will be on-line samples instead.  Petition circulation for the Union election begins February 18 and ends March 25.

E. Vice President – Stacy Davis Gates – Stacy spoke about the Black Lives Matters At School that is a national organization.  The CTU will be hosting some forums on that theme this month.  February 17 will address Rank and File Black Educator Led Campaigns for Safety and Equality across the nation.  On February 24 there will be a forum on Black educators leading unions across the U.S. in the time of COVID and Critical Race Theory and February 25 will have one titled “Jamming for P.E.A.C.E.”.  See the CTU website for more details.

Stacy reminded us that Karen Lewis died a year ago and there will be an in-person, live streamed memorial for her on February 7 from 5:00-6:00 p.m..  Contact the CTU if you would like to attend in person or on-line

If you are interested in some newly designed BLM t-shirts, go to Merchandise@ctulocal1.org.

Lastly, Stacy stressed the importance of solidarity.  Today at Burnham School a pipe burst and there was water flooding the basement.  Water and the heat were shut off and the District told the students to stay home but said the faculty and staff had to stay; if they left they would lose a PB or sick day.  The Union quickly jumped in and the CPS agreed to close the school for all with no loss of days.

II. President’s Report – Jesse Sharkey – Jesse has spoken with CPS chief Martinez about the four lost days of pay due to the lockout.  He said Martinez seems somewhat open to a resolution in our favor, perhaps through flex time.  They will continue to negotiate on this topic.

Jesse also addressed the concern of Delegates about those CTU members who went to “work” during the four days and got paid already.  He said the Union is still working on it.  The CTU doesn’t want to throw people out of the Union as might happen if they scabbed during a strike.  Some of those who went in during the lockout have been supportive of the CTU in other actions over the last three years so acting against them now doesn’t seem right.  The Union is still discussing what can be done and will let the Delegates know once the Union’s plans are made final.

Jesse wanted to keep us informed about a lawsuit filed in Sangamon County challenging the right of school boards to impose mask mandates.  The judge was not wearing a mask and he chided lawyers in the courtroom who were masked.  The IFT and CTU are opposed to ending the mask mandates and will keep us abreast of this as it develops.

For the next few meetings the House of Delegates will continue to meet remotely and there are pluses and minuses for doing so.  Jesse said attendance is higher via Zoom but some delegates are put off as it seems to be harder “to get in line” to speak on a topic or issue that comes up.

Jesse concluded his remarks by announcing that he decided to not run for re-election. 

He said he never intended to stay in office until he retires and plans to go back into the schools to teach.  His mother died in October 2020 and the job of CTU president is a very demanding and trying one.  One of his goals was to nurture and develop leadership talent and he feels that he has done that starting at the school delegate level and on up.  He wanted to be part of the group that changed the narrative on what the Union can and should do.

Note: this was a total shock to me.  I never envisioned it.  I’ve gotten to know Jesse a bit personally and although I sometimes didn’t agree with some of his ideas and plans, I believe he has the best interests of the membership, the students and the City at heart.  Karen Lewis, Jesse, and the rest of the CTU leadership have made a huge impact not only here in Chicago but across the nation.  I think his decision will be a loss for the CTU, but as he said, new leadership will be capable of moving us forward further.

III. Items for Action

    A. We voted to approve the procedures for the upcoming Union elections.  A motion was made by Mary Esposito to allow electronic voting for Union members not able to vote in person because they are out due to COVID.  This was ruled out of order because Jesse said it would violate U.S. law on union elections.  Esposito challenged the ruling and I voted to support Esposito, but the challenge failed 88-12%.  Afterwards, Robert Bloch, CTU attorney, said U.S. laws requires secret ballots in elections and secrecy cannot be guaranteed if it is done electronically.

A motion to close debate on the election procedures passed 95-5% (again, I was in the minority) and the measure to approve the election procedures, which I supported, passed 94-6%

B. The House voted to approve a “Resolution in Support of a Manufacturing Renaissance Bill HR 5124”.  This is a federal proposal that would increase funding for career, technical, vocational, and practical education introduced by my congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky.

IV. Committee/Department Reports

A. Organizing – Linda Perales – Linda stressed the importance and effectiveness of school safety committees when they are active and take action.  The CTU has held one training session for safety committee members and another one is scheduled for February 9.  Also, the CTU is helping to organize a statewide meeting on excessive testing in schools on February 22.  Lastly, the Union is sponsoring a Town Hall aimed specifically at new teachers with five years or less of experience on March 3, 2022.

B. Grievance Committee – Adriana Cervantes – The CPS is starting its teacher R.E.A.C.H. evaluations and observations are beginning.  The CTU has a handbook that faculty and staff should make sure that all observations and time limits are followed by CPS administrators.

The CTU has filed a grievance over the CPS’s failure to supply daily reports on COVID cases in the schools as required in our MOU.

Georgia Waller is the CTU Substitute Committee Liaison.  Jesse said that this committee has been a long time coming and the need for subs has gone from bad to horrendous.  Two substitutes, Doris Zughoul and Dana Smith, were cited by the CTU as “Substitutes of the Month” and will receive certificates and some Union swag in recognition of the work they have done.  Any school can send nominations of outstanding subs to the CTU.

C.  Political/Legislative Committee – Kurt Hilgendorf – Kurt spoke about HB 2778 which Gov. Pritzker vetoed with an amendment.  The bill would not have members lose sick days if they were out due to COVID problems for themselves or their families and would be retroactive to the start of the school year last September.  The bill, as amended, would have this only apply to those who receive a vaccine.  I asked if the vaccine requirement would be waived for those with valid vaccine exemptions and was told that that consideration is in the legislation.

Kurt also said that 2022 is an election year and the CTU is looking for volunteers to help those politicians get elected who have helped us out in the past.  Go to: ctulocal1.org/vote if you would like to help.

V. New Business/Questions and Answers

Jim Mcintosh, Roosevelt High, thinks it would be a good idea of all CTU officers would sub one day a month in a school of their choosing.  Jesse said that this might be a problem as it may violate the duties of officers as specified in the CTU constitution.

Brian Grauer thinks members who got paid for the four lockout days should not be allowed to serve on school safety committees.  Jesse said that the Union is still working on how to properly deal with these individuals

Frank MacDonald, Washington High, still is pushing for a CTU strike fund to help the membership get through strikes. Jesse said that most strike funds are set up by internationals, not locals, and that most wouldn’t kick in until the 8th day of a strike.  He also said that amount of money that would be available, even if we were to build it up over the course of a few years, would be miniscule considering the size of the membership.  Jesse suggested that the CTU might consider setting up a Hardship Fund instead that would be available to members via an application process instead, which could include paying an emergency rent, mortgage or medical bill.

A motion to extend debate failed 65-35% and the meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m.