What's in the latest CTU-CPS proposed contract agreement
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CTU president Stacy Davis Gates at a union rally in 2023. Photo: Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
After a year of contentious negotiations with Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates (HOD) will vote today on a proposed contract.
Why it matters: Approval from the HOD would go a long way in convincing the CTU rank and file, who have the final say, to vote for the contract next week.
- That approval could avert a strike in the nation's fourth-largest school district.
Between the lines: This would deliver a needed win to Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose past work for the union — which heavily funded his campaign — complicated the dynamics of a negotiation that traditionally finds the mayor on the CPS side of the table.
The big picture: CPS CEO Pedro Martinez says the contract will cost $1.5 billion over four years, down from an initial CTU proposal that he said would have cost $10 billion over that period.
Zoom in: CPS and the CTU have reached tentative agreements on more than 150 issues including:
- Teacher raises of 4% the first year and up to 5% over the next three.
- An extra $10 million for sports.
- Class-size limits of 25 in kindergarten and an average of 29 in most other grades, down from 36 or 32.
- Doubling the number of bilingual teachers.
- 90 more librarians over the life of the contract.
- A social worker and nurse in every school every day.
- Reaffirmed sanctuary protections and protections for LGBTQ+ students.
If passed, the median CPS teacher salary would be $95,000, according to CPS.
- "This maintains CPS' position as [having] one of the highest paid teaching forces in the country. And we're really proud of that," CPS chief talent officer Ben Felton said Tuesday.
Compromises: The CTU wanted 30 more minutes of daily planning time for elementary school teachers but the deal offers 10 minutes, along with more control over professional development days.
- The union won some requested changes to a teacher evaluation system called REACH, including longer intervals between evaluations for certain teachers.
What they're saying: Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas, in a Tuesday Tribune op-ed, called the CTU's attack on REACH "an effort to rally their base and bolster the union's broader campaign against standards and accountability."
The other side: "We're proud to have landed a transformative contract that turns away from decades of disinvesting in Black children and turns toward creating the world-class education system for every single student in CPS no matter their zip code," CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said in a Tuesday statement.
What's next: If the 730 delegates vote to advance the proposal, about 30,000 members will vote on ratification next week.
- The proposal would then need to be approved by the CPS board.