Chicago Teachers Union’s $50B demands include pay hikes, abortions, and migrant accommodations — at $2K per migrant

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is negotiating a caller statement pinch nan nationalist schools strategy and is understood to beryllium calling for an other $50 cardinal to salary for costs hikes arsenic good arsenic different demands specified arsenic afloat paid abortions for its members, caller migrant services and accommodation and a big of LGBT-related requirements and training successful schools. 

To put nan fig into context, nan full guidelines taxation receipts for nan authorities of Illinois past twelvemonth were $50.7 billion.

The unthinkable demands are being made contempt its members delivering underwhelming results for its students, pinch only 21 percent of nan city’s eighth graders being proficient readers, according to nan past Nation’s Report Card, which provides national results astir students’ performance.

The union’s demands person not been made nationalist but a leaked archive sheds ray connected nan eye-popping demands.

Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ audacious scheme calls for members to slope astatine least 9% costs increases each twelvemonth done fiscal twelvemonth 2028.

The mean net of a coach successful Chicago Public Schools is $93,182, according to investigation by nan Illinois Policy Institute, a blimpish nonprofit deliberation tank. Therefore, nan mean teacher’s salary will summation by half to $144,620 successful nan 2027-2028 schoolhouse year, it says. 

That fig would equate to much than double nan median family income successful Chicago, according to Census Bureau statistics. 

The Chicago Tribune reports that nan CPS fund will transcend $9 cardinal this year, up astir 30% from $7.4 cardinal conscionable 5 years ago. Much of that summation is reflected successful coach salaries, which are among nan highest of immoderate big-city teachers successful nan country, the 

Last schoolhouse year, nan district spent more than $21,000 per student, acold supra the national average of $14,347, according to census data. 

Gates’ scheme besides calls for teachers and counselors to beryllium paid a stipend of $1,000 per student per semester erstwhile they are assigned a number of students supra contractual limits and a status prize of $2,500 for labor pinch much than 30 years of service.

“We are asking you to springiness america an opportunity to show our story,” Gates said successful a reside successful March referring to nan union’s plans. “It will costs $50 cardinal and 3 cents… yes it will, and truthful what, that’s audacity.”

While nan fig mightiness look far-fetched, nan national holds tremendous sway successful metropolis authorities pinch heavy ties to Mayor Brandon Johnson. 

Johnson, a erstwhile CTU legislative coordinator who was put guardant by nan national to tally for mayor. As of June 30, 2023, CTU had funneled more than $2.6 cardinal into Johnson’s run while he received much than $6 cardinal from teachers unions altogether, according to nan Illinois Policy Institute.

Meanwhile, Davis herself has travel nether occurrence for sending her boy to a private school aft calling schoolhouse prime racist.

The leaked demands besides address “disparities” successful wellness attraction pinch 100% sum benefits for abortion care, 100% sum benefits for fertility, including afloat sum for retention of embryos and immoderate different stiff retention needs.

But nan national besides wants much taxpayers’ costs to spell to migrants successful its far-reaching scheme – earmarking $2,000 to beryllium fixed to each migrant to thief pinch academics, proscription and intelligence wellness counseling.

The national besides wants each of nan 646 nationalist schools to person a “newcomer liaison” for caller students arsenic good arsenic migrant students and unused school accommodation to beryllium converted into lodging accommodation for migrants.

There is besides a full big of different societal justness provisions nan national wants, including making judge workers and educators are trained annually connected LGBTQ+ issues arsenic a qualification successful their occupation description.

The national besides wants to instruction that each schoolhouse successful nan territory has astatine slightest 1 gender-neutral bathroom.

Additionally, it wants the board to adopt policies that would prohibit immoderate personnel from being compelled to show parents erstwhile a student rejects his aliases her sex.

Mailee Smith, elder head of labour argumentation astatine nan Illinois Policy Institute, has blasted Davis’ demands and said that Mayor Johnson should recuse himself from statement negotiations.

“These demands publication much for illustration a governmental schedule than a superior statement intent connected supporting teachers’ wages and benefits, and promoting nan acquisition of Chicago students,” Smith said successful a connection past month. 

“These demands are acold extracurricular nan scope of accepted bargaining, putting payer dollars connected nan statement successful pursuit of much national powerfulness and societal activism.”

“We are successful nan process of calculating nan costs of these demands, but we tin already show that backing them will require a sweeping overhaul of finances and caller revenues – meaning much and higher taxes for residents. Chicagoans merit to beryllium represented by a neutral statement who is looking retired for their finances.”