CTU Mayor Endorsement

Endorsement should be earned, not given away with political hints at public press conferences

As Chicagoans prepare to deliberate and consider who is to be their next choice for mayor, it is imperative that they consider how candidates are endorsed and if an endorsement from one organization actually represents that organization’s members.

By Froylan Jimenez, Chicago Public Schools civics teacher

Letters to the Editor

, Sun-Times

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Brandon Johnson addresses reporters alongside Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates after her speech Wednesday at the City Club of Chicago.

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Nader Issa/Sun-Times

In response to the Sun-Times report that Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson is favored to be the mayoral choice of the Chicago Teachers Union: There is a big difference between Johnson being the CTU brasses’ pick and him having the full support of the general membership. 

The article details Johnson’s expected jump into the mayoral race resulting in an almost automatic CTU endorsement since “to many [it] is a foregone conclusion, given he’s on the union’s staff and is making public appearances with CTU leaders.” An endorsement should be earned and not given away with political hints at public press conferences.

As someone who has previously co-chaired the CTU’s Political Action and Legislative Committee, I can attest that the democratic process to obtain our union’s endorsement involves several steps. It requires careful deliberation by the union’s political action committee and executive board and finally a final vote by the majority house of delegates.

While it’s evident that our union leaders have clearly decided that Johnson is their personal selection to be the next mayor of Chicago, it is worthwhile to point out that not all CTU members agree. In fact, in the last election for CTU posts, 46% of the membership did not support the current leadership’s political positions. It was one of the lowest margins of approvals in union history.

With that disparity in mind, there are several reasons to be cautious in going along with this pushing of an endorsement and, as a CTU member and taxpayer of Chicago and Cook County, I think it is imperative to at least consider these reservations before nodding along with the CTU leadership’s pick.

It is a fact that Johnson is both a Cook County commissioner and paid organizer of the Chicago Teachers Union. No full-time public servant should be working and simultaneously earning a paycheck as a full-time union organizer.

Taxpayers who go to the polls have the expectation that whomever they elect is not going to clock out of their public duty in the middle of the day and to go to another job. Similarly, union members expect full service and dedication from the people the union employs, and that their hard-earned union dues are going to people who are actively working on their behalf and not punching out and stepping away from their union duties. Both union members and Cook County taxpayers deserve full-time leadership and accountability from the people who work for them.

Simply put, double-dipping is a political tradition that is wrong, especially when it harms taxpayers and union members, and it should not be rewarded. As a CTU member and CPS civics teacher, I would go further to say that our union should serve as a working- class example where our actions promote good government and not questionable political maneuvers.

As Chicagoans prepare to deliberate and consider who is to be their next choice for mayor, it is imperative that they consider how candidates are endorsed and if an endorsement from one organization actually represents that organization’s members.

Sept. 1

School Begins!

By Stephen Wilson 

The 1st of September in Russia which is celebrated as 'The Day of Knowledge' as well as the beginning of the academic year has been marked by more changes to the curriculum as well as new lessons on patriotism for the youngest children at school termed 'Conversations of Importance.' Critics claim it is an attempt by the Russian state to brainwash impressionable young children and is wasting the precious time of school teachers.

Just like the weather, the future school program can just suddenly abruptly change in dramatic ways. In late August Moscow experienced a heat wave for one week of temperatures averaging around 30 degrees. Then suddenly the temperature has plunged to around 14 degrees and less. Instead of a clear blue sky you have a dense grey or white overcast sky with a chilly wind. Just as nobody knows exactly what to wear, teachers often don't know exactly what they must prepare. For instance, the format of the final year General English State Exam has changed yet again with new changes to the exam rendering some text books almost obsolete. English teachers feel pressurized into taking new courses or purchasing new textbooks they can ill-afford. The new changes involve a ban on mobile phones in the classroom, school students no longer being obliged to take two foreign languages and instead can choose only one {this move has been unwelcome for many Russian school teachers of French and German who worry about losing a lot of their hours at school}, beginning the school day with the singing of the national anthem and raising of the Russian flag and 'Conversations of importance' where school children as young as six will learn how to be patriotic.{often called history lessons}

In Russia, from the 1st September as many as 17.5 million children returned to school. Two million children went to school for the first time. When I asked some of my students how they felt about returning to school they grunted 'Don't even mention school' and later returned to enthusiastically playing video games as much as possible before they had less time for such amusements. They don't seem in any elated mood for celebrating.

It is fair to say that the 1st of September is still a special day for teachers. It is much more significant than the 1st of January as it really is the beginning of something new. In the old calendar of Moscow the 1st September did once mark the beginning of the new year rather than the 1st January. This is because it was the time where peasants had to gather the harvest. It was even thought that God had made the World in Autumn because it was the most convenient time to make it. It took Peter the Great to bring out a globe of the World and patiently explain to Russians that Russia is not the World and that when it is Winter in Russia it can be Summer elsewhere.

The ban on mobile phones has been welcomed by most school teachers. "About time to" you often hear in the school corridors. School students were often sending messages or secretly playing some games. They also use gadgets for cheating during some tests although that had become increasingly problematic with the imposition of very strict rules during exams.

The most controversial change has been the introduction of lessons on 'patriotism.' The lessons come under the title 'Conversations about what is important.' The idea is that children will learn about the most significant events happening around them and that children from ten will be allowed to discuss controversial topics such as the on-going 'Special military Operations' in Ukraine. Children will be taught of the importance of serving in the armed forces and their obligations to defend their country against any imminent invasion. On the surface, this might seem innocuous until you wonder how patriotism is be defined and explained and whether such discussions would just provoke pointless arguments. Not every school student eagerly wants to discuss 'Special Military operations' especially when their classmates are from Ukraine. A 16-year-old school girl told me that, "We don't even discuss this question at school because we don't want to hurt the feelings or offend the sensitivities of fellow schoolmates from Ukraine." They seem to be following an old English maxim of making conversation where a rule at parties was never to discuss politics or religion. This maxim was observed to prevent fist fights and duels against a background of Civil war in England during the 17th to 18th  centuries. This is not the most appropriate time to introduce such a topic. In many places in Moscow the atmosphere has been rendered toxic following political arguments. Teachers and students who have been friends for years have fallen out over different views on the conflict. Families have been torn apart by ugly arguments. An Orthodox priest who takes confessions stated that many of his congregation has come to him for advice on how to repair the damage inflicted on their families by political arguments.

Should teachers simply boycott those lessons? Such an action might only succeed in leading them to losing their jobs. Perhaps a more productive way of teaching might be allowing children to discuss what is patriotism! Is it love of nature? Does patriotism encompass friendship, love and charity? In that case it is worth children and ourselves learning how to value friendship, how to be a good friend and how to keep friendship going! We need to learn that just because you have a disagreement on a political matter does not mean the funeral of a friendship. There are cases where married couples have very different political opinions, but their marriages can continue until death! What is their secret? Perhaps it is how they disagree and what they do agree on that matters most!

So 'Conversations about what is important ' need not be brain-washing but an exercise in 'emotional intelligence' or practical wisdom. The main thing in those discussions would be to ask the questions than simply furnish ready-made answers in advance. One of the saddest things about many schools is that children are not taught what is love and how to truly love people. That is certainly one of the most important topics of any school discussion. And children should be encouraged to find the answers themselves. The poet T.S. Eliot claimed, 'Old men ought to be explorers. But children deserve to be given the head start when it comes to exploring. They should be inspired to retain a childlike curiosity which questions everything!'

Aug. HOD

Report on the meeting of the House of Delegates held on August 24, 2022

By George Milkowski

Note; The agenda format has changed with committee reports moving up to being made along with the officers’ reports instead of being towards the end of the meeting.

I. Officers’/Committee Reports

A.   Christel Williams- Hayes – Recording Secretary.  Chistel urged all delegates to contact PARAs in their schools and urge them to join the CTU if they are not members already.

B.  Rebecca Martinez – Organizing Director.  Rebecca went through a number of victories the CTU had in the past few months.  In every case getting contact and support with parents, local community groups and local politicians was key to our wins.  The CPS wanted to end a program for deaf and hard of hearing students at Cass School but backed off after resistance from teachers and parents.  CPS wanted to fire two teachers from Washington High for their activities opposing the re-location of a very polluting industry, General Iron, from a white neighborhood that is becoming more upscale to the southeast side that is mostly black and Hispanic.  CPS instead just gave them an insignificant slap on the wrist. The Board wanted to cut $1,000,000 from the budget at Zapata Elementary but backed off and the school only lost one position.

Rebecca conducted a quick poll to see what are the major current concerns of CPS members.  The poll showed that concerns over testing is first, followed by the need for more instructional staff, the need for more support staff, and improved school climate and more effective school administrations.

Rebecca also said we need to be aware of the importance of the upcoming 2022 contract talks for charter schools.  What they gain can be a precedent for us when our contract expires in a few years.  Also, there will be City government elections in 2023 and the first elections for an elected school board in 2024.

C.  Kathy Catalano – Financial Report.  Kathy reported that as of June 30, 2022, the end of our fiscal year, we have $870,561 more than what was budgeted.  Teacher investment in the Union, more commonly known as dues, are specified as being 1% of a Lane 1, Step 6 teachers salaries, and will be $1,242 for teachers this year.  PARAs dues are set at 60% of that, which will be $745.19.

D. Maria Moreno – Financial Secretary – Our membership is gone up to 28,141 and retiree membership has increased by 26 to 1,690.  Delegates are asked to approach new faculty and staff and ask them to join the CTU if they are not already members.

E.  Political/Legislative Committee – Kurt Hilgendorf.  In the June primary 9 of 11 CTU endorsed candidates won their election and two, Delia Ramirez and Jonathan Jackson, are definitely going to win in November and go to Congress.  Kurt said that contests in which progressive candidates faced off against moderates, the progressives won.

The 2023 municipal elections indicate that Mayor Lightfoot is in trouble and the CTU will be soon interviewing candidates for potential endorsement.

Lastly, Kurt said the annual Legislators Educators Appreciation Dinner, (L.E.A.D.) dinner will be September 30 at an outside venue.  This is a chance to meet with various legislators and inform them one on one of the problems we face daily in the schools.  A social hour will start at 4:30 p.m. and at 5:30 the dinner will begin.  Tickets are $50 per person.

F.  Jennifer Conant – Charter Division – Jennifer reminded everyone that what CTU’s charter Division can gain from the CPS will be a foretaste of what we can expect to gain when our current contract expires.  She said that greater wrap around services for students are needed.  She said one big goal is to have all charter schools bargain together for standardized contracts

G.  Jackson Potter - Vice President – Jackson’s remarks were very brief.  He referenced the importance of using the safety committees to deal with problems in schools regarding COVID.  He said every school will be getting 200 test kits and schools with more than 1,000 students will be getting an additional 200 on top of that.  Students who are ill can be tested and be forced to quarantine for five days if they are positive.

Jackson all said the CTU has a “We Care Coaching & Mentoring” program for 1st and 2nd year teachers who often feel isolated, burn out and quit teaching.

H.  Zeidre Foster – Grievance Committee.  Zeidre went over a few major wins that we had this summer.  Forty veteran teachers who were laid off were re-stated, received $45,000 and had 200 sick days returned to their bank.

At Lake View High the principal tried to control the definition of teachers using personal days but lost.

An arbitrator ruled in favor of class size Teacher Assistant members. They had been paid less for their work then what was due.

Zeidre announced the CPS has agreed to a pilot program that would expedite grievances that the Board has failed to respond to in the required timely manner.  It this works to remove the backlog of cases the program may be expanded.

Zeidre also stressed that need to keep the local school safety committee active especially now that there are concerns over Monkey Pox.

II. President’s Report

Pres. Stacy Davis-Gates first gave some of her time to a few other individuals. First, Georgia Waller said the CTU is again implementing a monthly recognition of Guest (a.k.a. substitute) teachers and asked delegates to make recommendations.

In a major win, lawyer Patrick Cowlin announced that a suit in federal court that started in 2012 has been won.  That year the CPS began closing underperforming “turnaround” schools and that resulted in 414 personnel, mostly people of color, losing their jobs.  The court found this to be discriminatory and just before the judge could issue a final ruling the Board agreed to pay $9,250,000 to those individuals who were hurt by their actions.

Stacy said negotiations over return to school safety protocols began ion July 1 and the tone of the CPS was much more positive resulting in the agreed to be voted on.

Lightfoot apparently has not changed her tone, though.  In a speech she said that the City does well when the schools do well, implying that if the schools aren’t doing well, it is our fault!

III. Items for Action

A.  Bea Lumpkin a CTU member was given a lifetime achievement award from the IFT and the CTU passed a resolution recognizing and honoring that.  (Note: I have known Bea for a number of years.  We work together on the Union’s Retired Members Standing Committee and also we are both involved in a steelworkers retire organization.  Bea turned 104 three weeks ago!!)

B.  The House approved a schedule for House meetings for the rest of the year.  Six of the remaining nine meetings will be in person while three of them, January , February, and March, will be via Zoom.  Some delegates are still concerned about the pandemic but the schedule was approved 61-39%.  I voted “yes”.

C.  The third item was to approve the Tentative Agreement with the CPS on the safety protocols for returning to work.  These were worked out in negotiations and recognize the changes suggested by the CDC.  Parts of the agreement include:

-Quarantine will no longer be required for those who have been exposed to people who tested positive

-Those who are positive must stay home for five days is sick and then may return to school if masked

-Masks are encouraged but not required

-Weekly COVID screening will be in all schools

-More money will be made available for subs in schools that have a harder time getting subs and a greater need for them. 

After some debate the House approved the plans 94-6%.  I voted “no”.  Now, the entire membership will be asked to approve it and they will do so in the next few days via computer.

IV. New Business/Question and Answers

Paul D’Addario complained that in trying to sign up a new member the on-line procedure insists that the new member also sign up as a contributor to the Union’s PAC Fund.  Stacy said that that is not required and the glitch will be corrected.

Ed Hershey (Lindbloom) asked that he be endorsed by the CTU as he has gathered enough legal signatures to be on the ballot to run for Congress in the 4th congressional district.  Stacy ruled him out of order and said he should contact Kurt Hilgendorf of the Political/Legislative Committee.

Frank MacDonald motioned to have the delegates’ stipends doubled. Stacy, like with Ed Hershey, ruled him out of order but she referred his proposal to the Policies Committee.

At that point a motion to adjourn passed 96-4%.  It was 7:30 p.m..

Teachers = Robots

"I AM NOT A ROBOT!"  

Gadgets give teachers no rest

By Stephen Wilson

 

 

Work can relentlessly and remorselessly pursue teachers!   

Every day of their lives can be rudely interrupted by the beep or buzz from a message sent by their boss to their I phone, smartphone or computer. This unwanted intrusion by employers into the free time of employees has increased rather than decreased following the pandemic.  Employers increasingly refuse to let teachers take a rest from their work even during their free time. However, new legislation is currently being passed in Europe to forbid such intervention such as in Portugal and Belgium following the legal precedent shown by France, in August 2016 where employers can be fined for sending such messages to workers during their free time. Second City Teachers explored this persistent problem.

 

"Every Sunday I get an SMS or message sent by my boss from the institute demanding that I do this or that work task. She asks, 'Have you put the mark of this student in the register or have you recorded those exam results? Those calls ruin my day off. I never get any peace from them ...' complains just one of the many Russian English teachers that work at the the Institute of Power and Energy in Moscow. 

The Russian English who can't be named also told me,

"Whenever I see my colleagues they look exhausted and stressed out by all this pressure. We were told at a staff meeting that there was a long waiting list for people who were seeking our jobs and that we could easily be replaced if we were not happy. To make things worse we were told by the head of the English department that in the future, all the teachers will be expected to have a doctorate. But many of the teachers despite having a diploma in linguistics and a masters don't have a P.H.D.

"All the teachers are expected to write numerous articles for academic journals and often end up having to pay for the publication of them unless the institute covers the cost which is rare." 

Such a trend where teachers are constantly asked to upgrade their qualifications, pay for extra courses, and write articles for academic journals seems to be an increasing trend in Moscow. Not only are teachers having to deal with employers invading their free time but are also being expected to become fully fledged academics. Teachers feel threatened by 'academic imperialism'. At the Plekhanov Institute of Economics a former teacher informed me that teachers experience similar problems. Natasha, a former teacher at the institute stated, 

"The employers have no sense of a teacher's life work balance. What incentive is there for a teacher to study at an institute when the pay is so low, the hours long, inflexible and they are expected to finish a doctorate without any real support or grants for them to complete it? I also heard that teachers aged 60-65 had their working hours cut in half." 

The notion that there is a waiting list of teachers applying to take jobs at those institutes is highly questionable especially when the pay is so low. It could well be a standard scare tactic to intimidate teachers. In fact, the institute could face a shortage of teachers because many of the teachers we spoke to told us they dreamed of leaving their posts as working conditions have become 'intolerable.' The teachers are rendered further vulnerable by the fact they lack a union to protect them. Many are scared of the possible repercussions of joining them.

 

The situation where some demanding employers bombard their employees with emails was boosted by the rise in all kinds of new gadgets such as smart phones, 

iPhones and portable mobile phones. It now feels you carry your work around everywhere in your mobile phone. The pandemic also gave a further boost to Online teaching, resulting in workers become 'appendages to their machines.' Instead of Satanic mills you have Evil Email that never ends. Now the line between work and home has become increasingly blurred. So many teachers feel they have to be available at all times. They are made to feel guilty about relaxing on a Sunday. Every day is meant to be Monday! But answering all those calls and messages not only leads to stress, but in some cases burn out.

 

The good news is that several countries in Europe have passed laws allowing workers to disconnect. A legal precedent was set by France in August 2016, where a law was passed forbidding employers from sending email after working hours and especially on their days off. In February 2022, Belgium passed a law allowing civil servants to switch off work e-mails, texts and phone calls outside working hours without fear of reprisals. The legislation came into effect to protect 65,000 public sector employees from being permanently on call. However, the problem with those new laws is that don't cover private enterprises or companies that employ a small number of employees. It is also one thing to pass a law, another to enforce it. The European Union, in principle, defends the right of workers to disconnect from their work beyond working hours. Portugal has also passed work life balance legislation where employers  in companies of ten or more workers face fines for contacting their staff outside working hours. But what about companies who employ less than ten members of staff?

 

Such legislation would be welcomed by teachers at the institutes and so many other hard done employees. Under article 37 of the Russian Constitution of the Russian Federation forced labor is forbidden and everyone has the right to rest. But this seems more an expression of principle and pious wish than a secure and protected right.  Many Russians would undoubtedly welcome similar laws based on recent European legislation. As one P.R. manager Marina told me, 'We are not robots."

Nicoli Schmidst, a Job Commissioner agrees. He states, "The right to disconnect is something recognizable because we are not robots." Some proverb goes, 'There is no rest for the wicked.' The proverb gets it wrong. It should say 'There is no rest from the wicked.' 

Hershey v. Chuy

CPS High School Teacher Challenges CTU Favorite for Congress

By Jim Vail

High School Teacher Ed Hershey is running for Congress.

It sounds like a chocolate battle over who should serve in the 4th Congressional District - Hershey v. Chuy!

Lindblom High School teacher and associate union delegate Ed Hershey is challenging Chicago Teachers Union favorite Chuy Garcia in the Nov. 8 election for Congress.

He is running on the Working Class Party ticket that is not affiliated with the Democratic Party.

 

"The working class needs its own party," Hershey told Second City Teachers. "We need our own party to represent our own interests."

Hershey pointed to the current economic crisis. High inflation is cutting into people's paychecks. Wages have to go up to keep up with the inflation or else people lose, but neither party will say something to deal with the crisis. Record oil company profits while people have to pay higher housing, gas and food prices comes down to - ruling class more money, working class less.

Hershey joins his fellow high school teacher Froy Jimenez who is running for state senator. Both are seeking endorsements from the Chicago Teachers Union.

Hershey said he and a group of volunteers gathered 7,850 signatures to qualify for a place on the Nov. ticket. (full disclosure: I helped Ed gather signatures on his petitions)

While Froy's opponent challenged his signatures, Rep. Garcia did not challenge Ed's signatures.

Hershey first ran for Alderman in the 25th Ward in 2015 and earned 8 percent of the vote. Disgraced Ald. Danny Solis who wore a wire to help indict Ald. Ed Burke was replaced by Byron Sigcho-Lopez who is close to the CTU and the Democratic Party.

The CTU endorsed Rep. Garcia for Mayor against Rahm Emanuel, that resulted in a run-off. Emanuel decided to not run in the next election that elected Lori Lightfoot.

Garcia ran unopposed in the Democrat primary.

"Garcia's political role is to tie the working class to the Democratic Party," Hershey said.  

Hershey and Jimenez said the onerous process to run for political office is evidence that the system is set up to keep the working person out and big money interests in.

Hershey had to collect at least 5,000 signatures on his petitions and then drive all the way to Springfield, Illinois to hand deliver the petitions.  

"It's one more way to keep people out of politics," Hershey said.

People told Hershey while he gathered signatures that high inflation has really hurt them. One black woman in the Little Village neighborhood said the Democrats are sending Ukraine $40 billion in arms to kill Russians and Ukrainians while there is little money here for working people for the basics of housing, transportation and education.

"A lot of people are open to what we are saying," he said.

Hershey is an associate delegate at Lindblom and has worked over 16 years in the Chicago Public Schools. He teaches physics and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago.

Froy for Senator

Hancock Teacher Runs Again Against City Machine for State Senate

By Jim Vail

Hancock High School Teacher Froy Jimenez is running for State Senate.

Hancock High School Teacher and former Chicago Teachers Union PAC leader Froy Jimenez is running once again for 1st District State Senator.

The former CTU strike captain did not get the CTU endorsement to run against long-time State Senator Tony Munoz even though the Teachers Union had encouraged its members to run for political office. CTU perhaps did not believe he could win and instead decided to not endorse either candidate in the last election. Froy earned 38% of the vote despite not having the official backing of his union.

In a move typical of corrupt machine politics, Jimenez's petitions are being challenged by his opponent Javier Cervantes who is the son-in-law of the former State Senator who decided at the last minute to retire. This is a typical move when the incumbent backed by the city machine has plenty of money to hire lawyers and challenge signatures against any independent candidates challenging their power.

"The political games incumbent politicians play to get their chosen candidates to succeed them is a mockery of the political process and an ugly way to circumvent our democracy that ultimately limits the people's choice," said Jimenez who teaches civics and serves on the Local School Council at Hancock High School on the Southwest Side.

Jimenez filed 4,686 nominating petitions as an independent, over the 3,000 signatures needed. The Chicago Board of Elections is now conducting a detailed examination of the signatures to determine how many are valid. Jimenez defeated a petition challenge the last time he ran. 

Froy was born in Mexico, moved to Bensenville as a boy and went to Marquette University on a Chick Evans Scholarship. 

Cervantes his opponent worked for 12 years as a union rep for SEIU Healthcare.

Froy told Second City Teachers that it is a shame so many elections are uncontested because you need so much money and connections just to participate in government.

In his last election he faced an opponent with about $1 million while Froy has many volunteers and ran a grassroots campaign. 

He represents the Working Taxpayer's Party, an independent group made of working class tax payers not tied to the Chicago Machine. He said Sen. Munoz was connected to the Hispanic Democratic Organization that was created by Mayor Richard Daley. He pointed to the recent conviction of former State Sen. Tom Cullerton who was sentenced to one year in prison after he pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from a labor union

Froy said the CTU made a side deal in the last election even though his opponent never asked for CTU's endorsement. He said there is no reason why he should not get the teacher's union endorsement in the Nov. 8 election. 

Froy said he against secrecy in union finances and advocates for laws that separate the union's role and public service that prohibits double dipping. Brandon Johnson is a Cook County Commissioner and a full-time organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) has already endorsed his opponent in the race and he thinks it may be because Brandon Johnson sits on the interview committee to endorse candidates.

"They like that I'm outspoken and not a yes man," Jimenez said. "I advocate against the machine." 

He said he joined Members First so that there are checks and balances. He said the members need more voices because there is not much dissent in the CTU and not enough attention paid to what is happening in the classroom. 

"In a healthy union you should not just be blindly loyal to the leadership," he said. "We need criticism and input from all the membership."

Currently there are no CTU members serving in the state senate. There are CTU members represented in the City Council, Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Illinois State Legislature. 

Book Review Part 4

Book Review Part 4: 

Teachers and Reform: Chicago Public Education

By John Lyons

Jacqueline Vaughn became the first African-American CTU President in 1984

This is the fourth and final part of our 4-part series on the history of the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools. This part will look at how the union and the teachers fought over integration v. black power with the City Machine. This is based on the book Teachers and Reform: Chicago Public Education 1929 - 1970 by John Lyons.

It is very important to know our history - especially our schools and union history so we as teachers can better understand our present situation. What did people fight over? What was permitted or not permitted? This can shape how we respond to events today.

The teachers union in Chicago attained collective bargaining rights  from Big Time Boss Mayor Richard J. Daley as a concession to prevent the bigger fight for integration of the schools. The black schools on the South and West Sides were overcrowded and underfunded, while many white schools on the North Side were under capacity and had better resources.

Like former Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey constantly reminding the delegates that they had fought many strikes to get a better contract, former CTU President John Fewkes, who the $48 million Fewkes Tower that the union sold six years ago was named after, constantly reminded the teachers that he had obtained the teachers their pay after the payless paydays of the 1930s and had united the feuding teachers into one union in 1937. His followers were the old-timers who remembered what it was like during the Depression.

But the times were a changing!

Superintendent Benjamin Willis refused to bargain with the teachers union and wanted to control every detail of the school operation without any regard to teacher input. By the early 1960s Chicago teachers pay fell behind other teachers. Salary increases were so low throughout the 1960s that it did not keep pace with the cost of living. Teachers did not even have medical insurance or paid vacation at the time when this country experienced unprecedented prosperity. Teachers believed the principals held too much power and they demanded too much paper work. They also complained about student behavior. In 1964 there were 39 lawsuit cases of assault against teachers and a survey revealed 192 out of 374 CTU delegates reported  severe behavior problems in their classrooms and another 152 reported daily but minor behavior problems. In 1961 Josephine Keane became the first teacher murdered by a CPS student.

Many white teachers believed that the civil rights movement's demand for school integration threatened their working conditions and put at risk classroom autonomy with no respect for teachers. CTU President Fewkes had "little personal sympathy with the demands of the civil rights movement in Chicago." One researcher found "anyone who tried to speak about school integration on the floor of the Union of House of Representatives in the early 1960s was actually hooted down." Fewkes refused to speak out against segregation and the CTU opposed racial integration of the teachers by upholding the right of seniority in teacher transfers. While ignoring racial problems, the CTU rigorously defended teachers and principals against violent attacks by pupils and parents. To highlight classroom violence, the CTU undertook studies, published articles in the union newspaper and sent letters to the Board of Education. While black parents called for removal of uncaring principals and racist teachers, Fewkes supported the teachers. Younger teachers supported the Civil Rights movement and many black teachers promoted racial pride.

The first union opposition to Fewkes emerged in 1958 when Meyer Weinberg ran for president in the first contested union election in a decade on the Independent Caucus who demanded integrated schools and collective bargaining. Mayor Daley gave the CTU collective bargaining to get CTU backing of the Democrat Party, avoid conflict with the teachers union and defeat the civil rights movement that threatened his power base.

Nearly half of Chicago's black public school teachers crossed the picket lines during a two-day walkout in May, 1969, and activists called to set up their own all-black labor union during the Black Power phase when teachers and community activists wanted to improve the inner city schools. CPS had announced a busing program to integrate the schools in 1967 but only for black students to be bused, better pay to encourage white teachers to work in black schools and magnet schools to stem white flight. But thousands of white residents protested the Board of Education's plan. A petition opposing the busing plan gathered 60,000 signatures. "The persistence of residential segregation, white opposition, and lack of will on the part of the school administration had fatally wounded school integration in Chicago."

Mayor Daley did hire more black school administrators and introduce African American studies classes in the curriculum. In 1966 Vice President John Desmond, an ally of Fewkes, narrowly defeated Charles Skibbens from the radical Teachers Action Committee 4,306 - 4,190 for CTU President. Black teachers and young, inexperienced white teachers taught in the segregated schools, and the CTU focused on better pay rather than improving black schools. In 1967-68 CTU obtained Christmas vacation pay and paid spring vacation, a $500 salary increase, fully paid medical insurance, three personal business days, a grievance procedure, severance pay, a preparation period for elementary teachers (high school already had one) and duty-free lunch. All thanks to collective bargaining!

However, black teachers got a bad deal. The union did not help to get certification for Full-time Basis Substitutes (FTBs), which was given to teachers who did not pass the Chicago Board of Education teacher certification examination. They had no security of tenure, transfer privileges, and lower pay than fully certified teachers. In 1963 5,000 teachers or a quarter of the workforce were FTBs, and 90 percent were black! Plus, black teachers said the teacher oral exam deliberately discriminated against them, believing examiners did not like "unprofessional" black southern accents. The mother of Emmett Til who was murdered in Mississippi failed the exam accusing her of being on an 'ego trip.' Plus, it was a way to keep black teachers in black schools when they could not transfer. Harold Charles had worked as a biochemist at the University of Chicago and was chair of his science department, but had been an FTB because he failed the oral exam continuously. When his white principal complained, he passed! Plus FTBs did not have full membership in the teachers union. A group called Concerned FTBs formed to get full rights in the union. Unlike the CTU, the UFT in NY supported school integration and black civil rights. Black parents and activists turned their attention away from seeking school and faculty integration and toward an increased focus on quality of public education. The violent pushback from the white people against integration horrified black people and confirmed to many they were safer staying in black neighborhoods and black schools. The Black Teacher Caucus formed in 1966 as a black nationalist group that tried to influence the CTU  open only to black teachers. They wanted smaller classes in black schools, and more black trustees on the Board of Ed, and black principals and immediate certification of all FTBs! They said only black teachers should teach in black schools. The Teachers for Radical Change in Education was formed in 1968 by new left white radicals. They were a militant group that wanted to unite all the teacher groups and focus on educational issues, not wage demands. 

It was shown that the written and oral tests to be fully certified teacher was biased in favor of white teachers, but some white teachers resented this thinking it lowered standards if they did not have to pass the test. The Concerned FTBs staged three 'sick-ins' in 1967 when 1300 teachers stayed at home and in 1968 they went on strike for two weeks demanding Chicago teaching certificates after two years of satisfactory service. The CTU opposed the strike. They then filed a class action lawsuit claiming equal protection under the 14th Amendment which was denied. 

The CTU went on its first official strike on May 22 and 23, 1969. 3/4s of the teachers supported the union. Many striking teachers held classes for students in make-shift tents and at YMCA and Chicago Boys Club. About 23 percent of teachers crossed the picket lines; 45 percent of black teachers crossed the lines. The strike ended when all the CTU demands were met: $100 monthly raise for teachers, recruited 750 more teachers in overcrowded schools and reduce class size, and the Board of Ed agreed that after three years of satisfactory work FTBs would gain Chicago certification without an exam. The members voted 9,776 to 523 to accept the agreement.

The CTU then put more black teachers on election slates and in positions of power, including making Jacqueline B. Vaughn the vice president in 1972 before replacing Robert Healey as CTU President in 1984, to become the first African American woman and elementary school teacher to become CTU president, where she served until 1994 when she died of cancer. The Chicago Teachers Union delegates hall at its headquarters is named after Jacqueline B. Vaughn.