Kugler Fired

CTU Fires Beloved Long Time Field Rep Kugler 

By Jim Vail

CTU fired Field Rep John Kugler shown here next to 
Alderwoman & CTU member Sue Garza.

The Grinch stole Christmas for beloved Chicago Teachers Union Field Rep John Kugler after the CTU fired the long-time active fighter just before the holiday break.

"The reason they say I was fired was filing complaints against CPS attorneys and saying that I hid it from CTU management," Kugler said in a statement to Second City Teachers. "I had no notice. I was fired on the spot and locked out of all my work and records immediately."

He said he was given two weeks during the Christmas Holiday to find a job and get insurance for his family of six.

An outpouring of support for Kugler on the teachers Facebook pages followed the announcement that was posted this week by former Pension Trustee and retired high school Teacher Bernie Eshoo who wrote, "Just heard that CTU leadership fired, highly regarded and long time rank and file supporter, field rep. Dr. John Kugler."

"This is a great loss for Members," David Benjamin wrote on the Members First fb page. "John was an experienced and knowledgeable field rep. There were so many times I reached out to him to get clarification or guidance when helping members."

"John Kugler is one of the field reps that members give accolades to consistently," wrote Kathleen Cleary. "What a terrible thing to do right before Christmas."

Kugler was the face of the CTU's historic radical fight back against the ruling business class that went to war against the teachers union and public education. The city's rulers were used to getting their way with the old company union until everything flipped when a group of "radical Trotskyites" took control of the union, as former Mayor Rahm Emanuel put it.

He was talking about people like John Kugler who got in everyone's face when going to bat for the union members. 

Kugler's fiery rhetoric, fighting spirit and keen mind forged what some would say was the heart and soul of a union that took it to the streets to fight back.

Kugler backed down to no one, whether it was the principals he was fighting or his bosses at the CTU headquarters on Carroll Street. He was a member of the Teamsters union and filed many grievances and lawsuits. 

John Kugler is speaking out at the Chicago Board of Education
where he fought privatization schemes that closed many public schools.

His CTU bosses then said enough is enough and fired him.

The Teachers Union is known for purging any outspoken radicals who may have played a key role to help put the union in power. It is the classic playbook any group in power deploys in order to stay there.

His fellow field rep Joey McDermott was similarly fired for criticizing the union bosses despite his outstanding performance as a field rep who the teachers loved. Over 1200 CTU members signed a petition to unsuccessfully reinstate McDermott who was dismissed two years ago.

"We were two field reps who filed grievances and called out leadership's dishonesty and malfeasance," McDermott wrote to Second City Teachers. "We both met a similar fate. This leadership is more concerned with maintaining their own power than they are concerned with serving our members." 

CTU fired former Field Rep Joey McDermott

Everybody has a Kugler story. Here's mine:  When Race to the Top was implemented after Core's historic win in 2010, the city's power brokers went to war against the union and its teachers. My principal and Mr. Kugler battled it out like a couple of gangsters vying for control of the streets. The teacher who told me about this explosive fight in the office said she then fainted as she saw both sides almost at each other's throats. I said to myself, damn - this union is in good hands!

Kugler never backed down to anyone, anywhere. When he was the delegate at Hyde Park High School, he was known to wear a tape recorder around his neck as he walked the hallways and would record any confrontations with the administrators.

He was so good he drove himself out of his jobs. He took his work very seriously, and always had time to talk to any member.

Kugler told me CPS always breaks its policies, the only way to stop it is by fighting them. Dr. Kugler and CTU President Karen Lewis who passed away last year both emphatically spoke about fighting back. 

Kugler took over the reigns of Substance News after editor and long-time union activist George Schmidt passed away in 2018. Schmidt was similarly fired by the union for his calling out his bosses, and fired many times as a teacher delegate because he always went to war with the principals. Mayor Richard Daley fired Schmidt and put him on a blacklist after he published the Case Exam questions to protest a silly standardized test that then CPS Chief Paul Vallas implemented on behalf of his corporate chieftains.

Kugler didn't miss a beat exposing the bosses including the union while he edited Substance. A recent article noted that the CTU lawyers led by Core founder Jackson Potter's mother Robin Potter will pocket most of the money from a settlement that faulted CPS for unfairly firing many black teachers during the massive school closings in 2013.

That type of courage puts a target on you.

Kugler said he will speak more about his case in the future. For now, he'll do what he's always done - fight the bosses!

McDermott, who settled his dismissal case with the union and is now back to being a high school teacher, said Kugler will contest his firing. 

"Unfortunately they will probably waste members dues money with another costly settlement," McDermott said. "They like to throw money at a problem to make someone disappear."