Posts tagged Chicago
Chicago Teachers Union members sue union bosses over missing financial reports
October 14, 2024 // Specifically, the CTU financial secretary is required by union bylaws to “furnish an audited report of the Union which shall be printed in the Union’s publication.” Similarly, the CTU Board of Trustees is to “procure each year, a reliable and adequate audit of the finances of the Union for the preceding fiscal year ending June 30, and to deliver a copy of said audit to other major officers and to announce to the membership of the Union that said report may be inspected in the Union office by any member.” The last audit was released September 9, 2020, and covered the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 fiscal years. Audits for 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 fiscal years have not been released.
Commentary: Brandon Johnson Makes Sure the Fix Is In for the Chicago Teachers Union
October 10, 2024 // Among the terms the CTU is demanding — and which Mayor Brandon Johnson is supporting — is that the city, already wildly overburdened with unmeetable pension obligations, assume $175 million more of the responsibility for the pensions of non-teachers in the CPS system. How to pay for it? The idea was to force Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to take out a high-interest $300 million loan to fund it for a year and then just pray for Governor J. B. Pritzker to toss the city some money next time around because “now they have to.”
Entire Chicago school board to resign over teachers union dispute with Dem mayor Brandon Johnson
October 7, 2024 // “With the shift to a hybrid elected and appointed Board forthcoming, current Board members and Mayor Johnson understand that laying a strong foundation for the shift is necessary to serve the best interests of students and families in Chicago Public Schools,” the statement added. The powerful Chicago Teachers Union said in its own statement that the resignations are the “latest instability caused by the CEO in our district.
Chicago election workers say board is blocking unionizing effort: ‘We have had enough of these games’
September 26, 2024 // The unionizing campaign began in July when 55 of the 80 potentially eligible workers signed union cards, Deming said. Since a petition to unionize was filed with the state’s labor board, SEIU alleges the city elections board has tied up the effort in court. Deming said the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners has filed six objections to the petition to organize. One objection is that unionizing would break an employee prohibition of political activity, which Deming said is not the case. SEIU does endorse political candidates, but no union dues are used to fund political activity, Deming said. SEIU 73 already represents employees of the Cook County Electoral Board, Deming said.
CHICAGO: Mayor Brandon Johnson Asks CPS CEO Pedro Martinez To Resign. Martinez Says No, Sources Say
September 26, 2024 // ohnson’s desire to replace Martinez comes after he pushed school district leaders to take out a short-term loan to cover a pension payment for non-teaching staff and new costs related to the yet-to-be-settled Chicago Teachers Union contract. It also comes as school district leaders are in tense contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union. The mayor is also struggling to address looming deficits to the city budget he now oversees. Those deficits are driven, in part, by the CPS administration and school board’s refusal to take out the short-term loan.
Union leaders push for sports stadium funding from taxpayers
August 24, 2024 // Illinois Republican State Sen. Andrew Chesney told The Center Square this is a rare opportunity where progressives and conservatives come together. “The idea that we’re going to give these wealthy entities tax breaks is not something I support. The progressive wing of the Democrat Party actually shares in that position, which is why Gov. Pritzker is so hesitant to drive forward these proposals,” Chesney said.
Chicago teachers union locks 320,000 kids out of class so they can be indoctrinated by the DNC
August 23, 2024 // That’s right: 320,000 students are being kept out of school so they can watch a political party talk about the importance of education. Teachers are still expected to report to work for professional development days, and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is busing teachers to Soldier Field on Thursday night to watch Harris’ acceptance speech on the big screen.
Presidents from 6 labor unions throw support behind Kamala Harris at DNC: Watch speech
August 23, 2024 // "We are going to build a younger, darker, hipper, fresher, sneaker wearing labor movement," Verrett said. "A movement that is going to be more inclusive and built for the middle class. And we are going to end poverty-wage work once and for all”
Chicago teachers’ union claim that Black kids cannot pass standardized tests doesn’t go over well with mom
August 14, 2024 // Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union and executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, was asked by a Black radio station last week about public school students' declining reading and math scores. Specifically, criticism that Gates was advocating to boost teachers' contracts with money that would be better served addressing student achievement. She responded that gauging student achievement through testing was the problem.
How the Mafia Infiltrated American Labor Unions
August 12, 2024 // While law enforcement agencies continue to monitor Mafia infiltration of labor unions, labor racketeering has become less prevalent than it was decades ago. In part, that’s because union membership plummeted after the McClellan Committee exposed the extent of labor racketeering. At its zenith in the mid-1950s, union membership comprised one-third of the labor force, but now union members only represent approximately 10 percent of American workers.