HOD Feb.

Report of the Meeting of the House of Delegates, February 8, 2023

By George Milkowski

This meeting was held via computer and began at 4:35 p.m.

I. Officers Reports

A.  Recording Secretary - Christel Williams-Hayes – Christel reported that 49 teachers have been able to go through the CTU Quest Center program and are now National Board Certified Teachers.

B. Financial Report – Kurt Hilgendorf – Kurt said that we are now at the half- way point in our fiscal year and things look good.  We have $538,776 more revenue than expected and our $1,183,856 in operating expenses is less than expected.

Kurt mentioned that the CTU is involved with teacher and other organizations across the nation that are trying to get the WEP/GPO (windfall elimination provision/government pension offset) repealed.  These parts of federal law reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits that teachers and their spouses have paid into over the years but cannot collect.  He said 8 of the 18 U.S. representatives from Illinois have joined to be part of the 123 members of Congress who have introduced a resolution to repeal this onerous legislation.  If you would like to volunteer some time to try to get this pushed through Congress, go to: https://www.mobilize.us/aft/event S48196/.

C.  Financial Secretary – Maria Moreno - Union membership is at 27,692, and retiree membership is 1,534.

The deadline for returning ballots for the election of the Executive Board Retiree Vice President’s position is February 14.  If you haven’t received your ballot, call Maria’s office immediately. 

D. Grievance – Leah Raffanti – The CPS has made unilateral changes to its Corrective Action Training.  This is a program for personnel accused of some type of misconduct.  Sometimes, teachers are not even aware that there have been accusations made against them.  If someone receives a notice to attend this training, make sure you comply, but definitely inform the CTU about it as soon as possible.

The CPS cut the pay for coaches of Girl’s Flag Football by $1,500.  The CTU is filing a grievance over this.

A Curry High teacher was denied the right to work from home despite health related issues and lost a month’s pay.  A grievance filed on her behalf got her the $9,000 the CPS had tried to deny her.

Three years ago teachers at Edwards School filed a grievance over missed prep periods.  They were finally paid for it after the CPS was dragged through the grievance procedures.

Chester McSwain is a guest teacher (substitute) at Kenwood and was recognized by the CTU for the outstanding dedication to the students he has shown.

E. Charter Division –Jen Conant– Jen reported that the CPS has renewed the charters of a number of charter schools but none of them for more than three years.  She said this is indicative that there is increased scrutiny and accountability of the charters and the Board is starting to realize that the charters cannot necessarily educate the students cheaper and better than traditional schools.

F. Organizing report –Tennille Evans– Tennille urged delegates to make sure they conduct union meetings at their schools.  The CTU has developed a kit to help do this and have personnel willing and able to help out.

The CTU is asking for input from school personnel about staffing in the Pre-K programs.

The CTU is still urging getting involved with the Green Schools campaign.  Schools with peeling paint, lead in the water, windows that do not close properly and so on, need to be brought to the attention of the Union.  The CTU has developed a walk through program to assist teachers in identifying problems in the physical plant.

The Union is hosting a “More Love, Less Trauma” forum on February 15 starting at 5:00 p.m. at the Union building.  They are looking for suggestions and ideas from teachers on how to address problems of violence

G.  Vice-President – Jackson Potter – Last month Jackson lauded the teachers at McClellan School who refused to back down when they discovered lead in paint that was chipping in many parts of their building.  They were able to compel the CPS to spend $35,000 to take care of the problem over the winter break.  However, tonight he clarified that that sum was just used to identify the problems in the School.  The CPS has since spent over $750,000 alleviating the problem there.

Jackson spent some talking about a CTU member who is running for alderman in the 50th Ward, Mueze Bawamy.  The Tribune published angry tweets he sent out three years ago.  I have not seen the tweets, but supposedly two angrily opposed Israel and its’ actions in Gaza. They were thus interpreted to be anti-Semitic.  Note: Bawamy has been endorsed by the Jewish Council on Urban affairs.  The other was seen as being angry at white people. Jackson tried to explain Bawamy’s state of mind and that we all have done things in anger that do not reflect our true feelings.

 

H. Political/Legislative – Hilario Dominguez – He stated that Brandon Johnson has been steadily surging in the polls over the last few weeks.  Hilario also stated that Johnson has NOT proposed having an income tax on those earning $100,00 or more per year.  This was a complete error by the media.  He would want to see a tax on homes valued at more than $1,000,000 per year.  He would also like to re-impose a $4 per month “head tax” on corporations with large numbers of employees.  Anyone who would like to volunteer to help the Johnson campaign can contact the CTU.

II. President’s Report –Stacy Davis Gates– Note: this was a Zoom webinar and Stacy’s voice was muffled and unclear a lot of the time.

Stacy spoke at a rally in support of striking workers at the UIC and someone took her remarks and turned them into a music video.

Stacy said we are still fighting to get extended paid family leave that Lightfoot granted to other City workers but then pulled the plug on us getting it.  This will definitely be in the next contract talks.

She also derided the CPS decision to cut the pay for coaches of girl’s Flag Football.  She expects to win this easily but asked that we contact the Mayor’s Office about this AND the Chicago Bears.  Apparently, the Bears have some interest in this program.

Stacy also reminded the delegates that we are hosting a blood drive on February 24 from 2-7 p.m. at the Union building.

III. Items for Action

A.  The CTU passed a resolution titled “The Clinical Services Chicago’s Students Deserve”  It is based on nationally recognized standards for staffing formulas for nurses, social workers, school psychologists and many more.  It passed with 100% approval from the House.  I voted “yes”.

IV. New Business/Questions and Answers

David Arredonde hoped that someone would motion to rescind the CTU endorsement of Mueze Bawamy due to his tweets from 3 years ago.  David characterized the comments as “hate speech”.  Since David himself did not present this as a motion, the meeting moved on.

Moselean Parker (McKay School) motioned to have the CTU endorse Matt O’Shea for alderman in the 19th Ward.  After a number of people spoke on this, the motion passed 61-39%.  I voted “yes”.

A motion to adjourn was made and it passed 88-12%.  I vote “no”.