Education
CTU Rank-And-File Begin Voting on Tentative Contract Agreement
(WTTW News)
Chicago Teachers Union leaders and delegates have already signed off on a new labor agreement with Chicago Public Schools, but now tens of thousands of members and educators will get to have their say.
The CTU rank-and-file’s ratification vote began Thursday, which marks the union’s final step toward finalizing the four-year tentative agreement.
“Our solidarity has brought us this far,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and union leadership wrote in an open letter to members. “Your vote decides what happens next.”
Voting will continue through Friday, and results are expected to be announced Monday.
If approved by the CTU’s 30,000 members, the tentative agreement — which CPS officials say will cost $1.5 billion over the life of the deal — must still be approved by Chicago’s 21-member, partially elected Board of Education.
Under the proposed deal, teachers will see raises of 4% to 7.5% in the first year and 4% to 8.5% each during the remaining three years of the deal, depending on their level of education and tenure, officials said.
Union leaders said the contract includes enforceable class size limits and expands services offered to special education, bilingual and unhoused students. The deal will add teacher prep time and increase the number of libraries and librarians districtwide, while also expanding funding for sports programming and access to career and technical education opportunities.
CTU officials and some delegates have already lauded the tentative deal as a “transformative” agreement.
“We’re proud of the work that the largest bargaining team in our Union’s history engaged in to bring you this tentative agreement,” union leadership said. “We’re proud of what we have achieved in this TA and we are proud to be the most democratic institution in our district.”
While the vote is expected to pass, there has been internal pushback from some members, including the REAL Caucus, which is running to unseat Davis Gates and her CORE leadership caucus during the union's elections next month.
The REAL caucus criticized the tentative agreement, stating that there “are wins here, but this is not transformative.”
The caucus also noted that the Fraternal Order of Police was able to secure 5% raises for 2024 and 2025, while the CTU was offered a base 4% annual raise “despite our endorsement and significant investment in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign.”
“We fought for an elected school board and a friendly mayor to ensure a fair contract,” the caucus said in a statement this week. “CTU Leadership advocated to fire the CEO when negotiations were stalled. Yet, it seems inevitable that CTU leadership will be settling for less, even though some members of CTU Leadership gave themselves raises of more than 6%.”
