CTU Election Fight May 17
By Jim Vail
The Chicago Teachers Union election is scheduled for May 17 and it should be interesting.
The battle is between CORE - the Coalition of Rank and File Educators, and MF - Members First.
Both caucuses are strong and sent out flyers this week to CTU members.
The first flyer I received was from Members First that blared out, "Who Wants Their Dues to Go Up? No One!
This is a big concern among the group that formed a couple years ago to question the CTU budget and the foundation that has been shoveling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to political candidates while burning through its reserves that have resulted in deficits. This has also resulted in cutting field reps and other clerical workers in the CTU offices.
MF is headed by President Therese Boyle, Vice President Victor Ochoa, Recording Secretary Deborah Yaker and Financial Secretary Sharon Davis.
MF says in its flyer that it will demand transparency and will fight for competitive salaries. Those are not just hollow words. MF is led by Boyle who has looked closely at the budget to find deficits and questionable expenses that the union had to admit to. Boyle also said earlier that the union should be demanding a higher raise than just 5% because that of what teachers have lost in the last contracts when the fight was strong against the pension pickup.
CORE is headed by CTU President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Recording Secretary Maria Moreno and Financial Secretary Christel Williams-Hayes.
CORE says in its flyer that it fought against and stopped school closings and turnarounds, stopped charter growth, had the highest charter unionization in the country, won the greatest TIF surplus in history, restored pension levy, led first ever mayor runoff, secured funding security, and won rights to challenge discipline and vote down excessive tests for first time.
The CORE accomplishments are real - their political strategy has resulted in a fight back to protect public education from the proliferation of charter schools that have closed many public schools and eliminated many teachers jobs, especially in the African American community. That was how CORE started.
This race is a tough one - and you CTU members have the choice to decide who is best to lead this union in the future when you vote May 17.
The May 1 House of Delegates tonight will feature a debate between the union president candidates and vice president candidates.
By Jim Vail
 |
| MF candidates Debbie Yaker, Therese Boyle, Sharon Davis & Victor Ochoa |
The Chicago Teachers Union election is scheduled for May 17 and it should be interesting.
The battle is between CORE - the Coalition of Rank and File Educators, and MF - Members First.
Both caucuses are strong and sent out flyers this week to CTU members.
The first flyer I received was from Members First that blared out, "Who Wants Their Dues to Go Up? No One!
This is a big concern among the group that formed a couple years ago to question the CTU budget and the foundation that has been shoveling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to political candidates while burning through its reserves that have resulted in deficits. This has also resulted in cutting field reps and other clerical workers in the CTU offices.
MF is headed by President Therese Boyle, Vice President Victor Ochoa, Recording Secretary Deborah Yaker and Financial Secretary Sharon Davis.
 |
| VP MF candidate Viktor Ochoa |
MF says in its flyer that it will demand transparency and will fight for competitive salaries. Those are not just hollow words. MF is led by Boyle who has looked closely at the budget to find deficits and questionable expenses that the union had to admit to. Boyle also said earlier that the union should be demanding a higher raise than just 5% because that of what teachers have lost in the last contracts when the fight was strong against the pension pickup.
 |
| CORE Stacy Gates & CTU President Jesse Sharkey |
CORE is headed by CTU President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Recording Secretary Maria Moreno and Financial Secretary Christel Williams-Hayes.
CORE says in its flyer that it fought against and stopped school closings and turnarounds, stopped charter growth, had the highest charter unionization in the country, won the greatest TIF surplus in history, restored pension levy, led first ever mayor runoff, secured funding security, and won rights to challenge discipline and vote down excessive tests for first time.
The CORE accomplishments are real - their political strategy has resulted in a fight back to protect public education from the proliferation of charter schools that have closed many public schools and eliminated many teachers jobs, especially in the African American community. That was how CORE started.
 |
| CORE VP candidate Stacy Davis Gates |
This race is a tough one - and you CTU members have the choice to decide who is best to lead this union in the future when you vote May 17.
The May 1 House of Delegates tonight will feature a debate between the union president candidates and vice president candidates.
No comments:
Post a Comment