Bargaining for the Schools our Students Deserve

1. Bargaining for the Schools our Students Deserve First Union Meeting of the 2019-20 School Year

2. Today’s Agenda Welcome back! • Contract Timeline • What are we fighting for • What is CPS currently offering? • Can CPS afford to pay for our demands? • Why are we asking for larger raises? • What can we learn from actions around the country and our CTU-ACTs strikes? • How do we win a strong contract? Why do we need to pass a strike authorization vote? • Next steps at our school.

3. Welcome Back! • Our contract expired 6/30, and we still don’t have a new one. Let’s discuss a few issues that will be front and center in the next month as we push for a strong contract. • When you were in 3rd grade, did you know who your 4th grade teacher would be? How about other years? How many Chicago students citywide do you think can say the same? • How many students are in your class? Can you most effectively do your work with that number of students? • What wraparound and other supports do our students have? What supports do they still need? • Do we have a librarian? A full time nurse? A dedicated case manager? Do we have arts and music? How would our school function differently if we had all of those? • What issues do our students face outside of school that impact what happens at school? What can CPS do to reduce the impact of those issues? • CPS is getting over $1 billion more in revenue EACH YEAR than it did just a few years ago, yet the district claims it can’t do what is standard in other districts. What do you think?

4. Contract timeline • Fact finding is over. Fact finder agreed with CPS – and said NOTHING about staffing or other vital supports • Bargaining now twice a week • CPS continues to stonewall on issues that have costs and issues that don’t cost a thing (i.e. increasing the number of principal directed preps) • First House of Delegates Meeting – September 4th • Looks like we’ll need to take a strike authorization vote to move bargaining • First possible date of a strike – September 25th

5. What are we fighting for? FULLY STAFFED, RESOURCED & STABLE SCHOOLS! • Raises (5% per year) (greater increases for PSRPs) • Reinstating the 30 minute prep before school for elementary teachers • Better benefits package • Improved Maternity/Paternity Leave • Converting sick & PB days to PTO days • Improved evaluation protections • Reduced workload & increased autonomy • Reduced testing • Smaller class sizes & fully staffed schools including librarians • More clinicians & wrap-around services • Reduced workload for special education teachers & increased SPED and Bilingual staff and services • Sanctuary Schools to protect our undocumented students • Increased number of sustainable community schools And more!

6. What CPS is currently offering? • A 5 year contract. Do we want to be locked in for 5 years? • CPS’ offer makes our workload worse, by removing our prep time (they want 3/5 preps principal directed), removing articles we won previously on reduced paperwork, testing, grading, teacher autonomy • CPS wants to REMOVE special education protections like the 70/30 ratio & eliminate meetings for clinicians & special education teachers to coordinate • CPS wants to EXPAND the REACH evaluation for punitive rather than teaching purposes • CPS wants to REMOVElimitations on charter moratorium/stopping charter expansion • CPS’ claim that they are offering 24% raises is an overstatement because: • They want to increase healthcare costs in years 4 and 5. • Their “raise” includes our steps, their proposed COLA raises are only 3% (first 3 years) and 3.5% (years 4 and 5) MINUS health insurance increases! • CPS has not agreed to our staffing demands that our schools so desperately need!

7. Can CPS afford to pay for our demands? • CPS has 1 billion MORE dollars each year for education: • $450 million more from the new pension levy • $300 million more from the new evidence-based education formula • $250 million more from the state to pay the normal cost of the pension • This does not include the $800 million in TIF funds (mayoral slush fund) CPS financial position is recovering and it’s time for that to show in our wages and in our schools.

8. Why are we asking for larger raises? *Graphs found in CTU’s presentation to the Fact Finder: CTU response to fact finder Housing costs in Chicago have skyrocketed – while our wages have been stagnant. It’s time for our salaries to increase, as well.

9. #Red4Ed & UTLA proved standing up – and striking if necessary – works! • OKLAHOMA: teachers won average raise of around $6,000, paraprofessionals $1,250.$450 million more towards education funding for state • KENTUCKY: Record new education spending for the state and stopped a destructive veto • ARIZONA: 20% raise by 2020 • WEST VIRGINIA: teachers won average raise of around $2,000 • LOS ANGELES: 6% raise, plus caps on class size, hiring of nurses, librarians, community schools

10. What did CTU-ACTs members in charter schools win from their strikes in 2018-2019? • Big raises • Smaller Class Sizes • Special Education & ELL protections • Clinician staffing ratios that match their professional organizations • Sanctuary Schools/Sanctuary Employers • Shorter school year and school day • Maternity/paternity leave • PTO days • Improved evaluations • Stronger grievance procedures

11. Reminder: Contract timeline • Fact finding is over. Fact finder agreed with CPS – and said NOTHING about staffing or other vital supports • Bargaining now twice a week • CPS continues to stonewall on issues that have costs and issues that don’t cost a thing (i.e. increasing the number of principal directed preps) • First House of Delegates Meeting – September 4th • Looks like we’ll need to take a strike authorization vote to move bargaining • First possible date of a strike – September 25th

12. So how do we win the contract we deserve? • CPS has an opportunity to reverse years of underinvestment, cuts and denying students the supports and experience they deserve. • We can’t let our new mayor, who campaigned on improving our schools and reversing years of disinvestment, squander the opportunity she’s been given. • We need to talk with our colleagues, parents and students about what we need and why students need these supports. • We can encourage parents and the public to expect more from CPS and help define what real progress would look like!

13. Why do we need to authorize a strike? • Bargaining is where we keep score, but the game is played in schools and in the public. • After big events, rallies, meetings, picketing and parent outreach articles move at the table. • If we want to win a strong contract for the schools students deserve, we must show that we are united for a strong contract by passing a strike authorization. The pressure of a possible strike, is our strongest leverage in bargaining. • If we get what we need in bargaining for our members, our students, and our school communities, we won’t have to strike, but we have to have our most powerful leverage at our disposal. • Members of our House of Delegates determine if and when we ultimately set a strike date.

14. CTU President from 1984-1994

15. Next steps Contract Action Team • CAT members regularly update each member in the building. • Sign up new union members with union application cards. • Parent outreach day – Friday, September 6th before and after school (flyers and informational picket signs) • This is an opportunity to share our contract proposals and what we are fighting for. • Organize for a strong Strike Authorization Vote to give our Bargaining Team maximum leverage. • Plan other ways to engage members, students and parents.

16. Who is ready to organize for the schools our students deserve?