IFT PAC Meeting Open to All?
By Jim Vail
The Illinois Federation of Teachers IFT sent out an email encouraging teachers to attend various Political Action Committee PAC meetings to determine which candidates should be supported.
I was surprised when I received this email because the Chicago Teachers Union CTU is a part of the IFT and they have never opened their PAC meetings to the public.
CTU President Karen Lewis is paid a salary of roughly $75,000 as an IFT officer in addition to her CTU "full-time" salary that tops $100,000.
Former CTU President Debbie Lynch told me she decided not to take another salary from the IFT because then she would have little influence with the state union and would be beholden to their wishes. The IFT like the American Federation of Teachers AFT are considered more conservative unions who back national political candidates tied to the Democrats, who support education reform that is destroying public education and unions.
The CTU PAC committee members are selected but really the officers decide which candidates they want to support. I was no longer welcome on the committee because I questioned the whole Democrat strategy.
While the CTU and Lewis encourage teachers to run for political office, politics trump the day. I had to fight at the House of Delegates HOD meeting to get an endorsement for Ed Hershey, a former alderman candidate and teacher and delegate at Lindblom High School. When CTU Political Dir. Stacy Gates read a list of former teacher political candidates to the HOD delegates earlier this year, she did not include Hershey's name (he ran a great campaign in Pilsen a few years ago).
The CTU is aligned with the Democrats and the Machine, and it is more important if the candidate can win, than if the candidate is a teacher or a true fighter for public education and workers' rights.
The IFT upset a lot of progressive union activists when it decided to endorse JB Pritzker for Governor. Pritzker's family is extremely anti-union, and he hides his billions in hidden trusts to not pay taxes, while he speaks out of the other side of his mouth that he supports union rights and taxing the rich.
Trump said a lot of populist things as well on the campaign - no more foreign wars, protect Americans from high drug prices, bring back manufacturing jobs, etc. His administration has, of course, done the complete opposite with a pro-business/ anti-worker agenda.
By Jim Vail
The Illinois Federation of Teachers IFT sent out an email encouraging teachers to attend various Political Action Committee PAC meetings to determine which candidates should be supported.
I was surprised when I received this email because the Chicago Teachers Union CTU is a part of the IFT and they have never opened their PAC meetings to the public.
CTU President Karen Lewis is paid a salary of roughly $75,000 as an IFT officer in addition to her CTU "full-time" salary that tops $100,000.
Former CTU President Debbie Lynch told me she decided not to take another salary from the IFT because then she would have little influence with the state union and would be beholden to their wishes. The IFT like the American Federation of Teachers AFT are considered more conservative unions who back national political candidates tied to the Democrats, who support education reform that is destroying public education and unions.
The CTU PAC committee members are selected but really the officers decide which candidates they want to support. I was no longer welcome on the committee because I questioned the whole Democrat strategy.
While the CTU and Lewis encourage teachers to run for political office, politics trump the day. I had to fight at the House of Delegates HOD meeting to get an endorsement for Ed Hershey, a former alderman candidate and teacher and delegate at Lindblom High School. When CTU Political Dir. Stacy Gates read a list of former teacher political candidates to the HOD delegates earlier this year, she did not include Hershey's name (he ran a great campaign in Pilsen a few years ago).
The CTU is aligned with the Democrats and the Machine, and it is more important if the candidate can win, than if the candidate is a teacher or a true fighter for public education and workers' rights.
The IFT upset a lot of progressive union activists when it decided to endorse JB Pritzker for Governor. Pritzker's family is extremely anti-union, and he hides his billions in hidden trusts to not pay taxes, while he speaks out of the other side of his mouth that he supports union rights and taxing the rich.
Trump said a lot of populist things as well on the campaign - no more foreign wars, protect Americans from high drug prices, bring back manufacturing jobs, etc. His administration has, of course, done the complete opposite with a pro-business/ anti-worker agenda.
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