104 Comments - PublicServant - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:35 pm: Teachers making up 5 days. Looks like they split it down the middle. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:38 pm: The price of learning ya can’t handle things like this is…. Lightfoot foolishly said “no days”…. by then caving to 5 days. Thank goodness it’s over. The Mayor looked foolish throughout - Christopher - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:43 pm: In my opinion, Mayor Lightfoot looked professional,informed, and fair during the strike. CPS gave CTU the best-ever offer they’ve received and Mayor Lightfoot, after touting the spirit of compromise, did compromise for the good of the city and schools and teachers and children. - Steve - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:44 pm: Here’s an interesting quote from Jesse Sharkey … “don’t want to be seen smiling with the Mayor”. Is the CTU beginning to like Mayor Lightfoot less than Rahm? - Big Bill Thompson - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:44 pm: =====The Mayor looked foolish throughout==== She’s looked foolish and incompetent for most of her tenure and continues to do so, heck look at today’s Capitol Fax. - A State Employee Guy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:44 pm: Replace “mayor” with “CTU leadership” and I wholeheartedly agree, Willy. - Father Ted - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:47 pm: In the spirit of compromise, let’s all agree that neither side looked especially great throughout this thing. - Because I said so.... - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:48 pm: It would be nice to know what the cost per Chicago tax payer is going to be for everything the CTU was given. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:49 pm: - A State Employee Guy - … and yet, according to all sides, CTU got the best deal, ever, and made the mayor go back on her word of “no makeup days”… by getting 5 - Big Bill Thompson - I am not a fan since the budgetary trainwreck public hearings, then this… I’m not impressed how the Mayor and Crew ho about their business. Nope. - Fixer - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:50 pm: Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth from Raunerites hoping for the second coming of Bruce in the form of Mayor Lightfoot commence. Glad they got it done and hope it’s a good compromise for all involved. - City Zen - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:51 pm: ==by then caving to 5 days.== Wouldn’t caving be 11 days? - Rod - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:51 pm: The Mayor jumped between being the “progressive” and being the guardian of the checkbook. It’s a difficult act to maintain and she did not always do it with great skill. The Mayor seems to also on occasion to project a hard guy image so as not to be stepped on and that made things difficult too. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:52 pm: ===Raunerites hoping for the second coming of Bruce in the form of Mayor Lightfoot=== Yeah. That’s been really odd. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:54 pm: Isn’t none… zero? We can look back at the quotes if you would like… - Father Ted - Bless me Father, for I have sinned… I was looking for winners and losers. I’ll do 6 Hail Marys, 3 Our Fathers, and read the story of King Solomon…. - Lou bloat - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:54 pm: The hostility and back-and-forth of a labor dispute it’s very common. We Laymen need to see what the teachers will get versus what the children are going to receive. - Touré's Latte - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:56 pm: > Wouldn’t that be the cost per Illinois taxpayer? - 17% Solution - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:57 pm: Like the creation of the Beatle’s white album (also made in October). A lot of tears, bad blood and and bickering giving way to beautiful harmonious music. - A State Employee Guy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 1:58 pm: “CTU got the best deal ever” That’s a real charitable way to describe a TA that squeaked by with 60% support in the House of Delegates. Plus, the teachers only got back 5 days where most districts get back all or close to all. Solid L taken by the CTU here. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:00 pm: === squeaked by with 60% support=== Rich Miller, if I can borrow, made this point well; That’s a supermajority in the GA. Squeaked must be snarky. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:02 pm: === only got back 5 days where most districts get back all or close to all.=== The mayor, foolishly said they’d get NONE back. Five is more than none. - A State Employee Guy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:03 pm: Doesn’t it strike you as weird that only 60 percent of teachers’ delegates wanted to take the “best deal ever”, Willy? - City Zen - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:04 pm: Lots of veteran CPS teachers not happy with this contract. Oh well. There’s always 2024. - Anon 10:20 - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:04 pm: Winner, by unanimous decision: Mayor Lori Lightfoot - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:05 pm: === Doesn’t it strike you as weird that only 60 percent…=== No. You get 500 or so folks to agree to something… is “something” - Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:06 pm: ===only 60 percent of teachers’ delegates=== Three fifths? That’s a super majority. C’mon. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:06 pm: === Winner, by unanimous decision: Mayor Lori Lightfoot=== Saving 6 makeup days is a unanimous win is pathetic to the analysis… lol - Father Ted - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:07 pm: Willy, your sins are forgiven. Go forth, my son. - A State Employee Guy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:09 pm: I would say the CTU overplayed its hand, but that assumes it had a hand to play after backing Toni and losing by a mile. To say nothing of the impact this bulldozing is going to have on the perception of the CTU as the standard bearer for teachers unions nationally. I suspect Jesse Sharkey quietly recedes into the night after this. Stacy Davis Gates may be a good fit as pres. - City Zen - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:09 pm: ==Solid L taken by the CTU here.== I don’t think so. Headcount will increase, which means more dues paying members. Their first year COLA will cover wages lost due to strike. There’s a soft cap on class size, which is better than the previous no cap. CTU didn’t get the 3 year contract they wanted to lord over the next mayoral election, but they get financial stability of a 5 year deal in a volatile political landscape. - A State Employee Guy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:10 pm: I should also point out that 60% is what they got by promising to get back all the instructional days, which they did not, Rich. - A State Employee Guy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:13 pm: City Zen—but they didn’t want a five year deal. They wanted a three, with significantly higher raises per year. Completely falling flat on the social justice agenda is one thing, but losing on wages is a big hit. The addition of extra dues payers does help though, I’m just not sure by how much. - Fixer - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:14 pm: Until we see the actual terms, some of you folks might want to hold off on declaring winners and losers, let alone “unanimous decision” winners. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:15 pm: - A State Employee Guy - ===but losing on wages is a big hit=== Don’t complain about the wage increase they got, lol Just sayin… - Original Rambler - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:21 pm: I think the Mayor came off well. I do agree that her negotiation tactics were a little suspect but like that she held firm on this final issue. (And it looks like Sharkey ended up going to her.) I like that she appeared to be a little bit unpredictable. I’m okay with her final compromise. I’m sure the FOP was taking notes. That will be her next challenge. - Joe Bidenopolous - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:22 pm: ==Nov 1 they lose health insurance.== Not exactly. CPS never issued the required 10-day notice that health insurance coverage would be suspended and teachers would have to pay COBRA to continue coverage, so teachers had health insurance for at least another 10 days. CPS knew that ripping insurance away from teachers would’ve driven more public opinion in their favor. Try again. The Mayor just lost…as she should have. - Montrose - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:22 pm: If Lightfoot had just picked up the phone last night and said “let’s do five days,” she could have avoided looking like she caved in less than twelve hours and got the kids back in school more quickly. Hopefully she learns from this situation and decides to negotiate in good faith earlier in the process in the future. - City Zen - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:24 pm: ==Nov 1 they lose health insurance== CPS still had to file the paperwork to rescind insurance for 30,000 employees. Guessing that wasn’t a hard deadline. ==Completely falling flat on the social justice agenda is one thing== CTU did get caught up in their own circular references. ==but losing on wages is a big hit.== The breakdown of winners and losers in compensation remain to be seen, but it looks like veteran teachers will not be happy with this deal. - Montrose - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:25 pm: “And it looks like Sharkey ended up going to her.” That’s a win? I hope to god that Lightfoot doesn’t see it that way. All hope is lost if she does. - Enviro - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:27 pm: “Groveling like wounded little rodents grasping for that health coverage. Lightfoot demonstrated she was the only adult in the room” You are so disrespectful and unkind. - City Zen - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:28 pm: ==If Lightfoot had just picked up the phone last night and said “let’s do five days,”== Was something preventing Sharkey from doing the same? - Southfarmllama - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:28 pm: I too think the Mayor came off looking good here. Sharkey and CTU leadership did not. My friends have been sharing their internal Facebook chats and from what I’m hearing, many veteran teachers are not happy. At the end of the day, Sharkey messed up and the Mayor called him on it. She came out looking like the only adult in the room. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:30 pm: Kudos to all for seeing this tough dispute to the end and resolving it. Praise to CTU and the teachers for fighting hard for the children. Praise also to Mayor Lightfoot for finishing this contentious situation on a positive note—so unlike Rauner, who dragged out the AFSCME dispute to the end of his term, was egging on a strike and wanted to have a Scott Walker-like moment. To those mad about money and costs, also turn that anger to Trump and Republicans, who gave the richest massive tax cuts when we have so much debt already—and to those who are already super-rich. Not saying one debt is better than the next, just pointing out the disparity in criticism. This calls for a very brief chant, to hopefully close this out: Get up, get down, Chicago is a union town. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:32 pm: Yikes. From the tirelessly working A.D. Quig’s Twitter; @ad_quig- “I’m not compensating them for days they were out on strike,” Lightfoot says at her PM presser. So… are they compensating them for their dancing during the strike, or… Also… === their internal Facebook=== This ain’t Facebook here. - @misterjayem - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:32 pm: Both sides endured a grueling battle that used up tremendous amounts of their political capital. The CTU won’t have another political test like this for five years. Lightfoot is currently in the midst of multiple political tests. Both sides won some. Both sides lost some. But Lightfoot’s losses were more costly. – MrJM - BigDoggie - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:34 pm: Personally speaking, I think both sides looked bad. The CTU looked greedy and the Mayor essentially caved to every demand. And as these things frequently go, the losers will be the taxpayers, who are left holding the bill and never had a say in the matter. I’m just thankful I’m not in the city. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:37 pm: === taxpayers, who are left holding the bill and never had a say in the matter=== Again, the teachers are taxpayers too. The mayor, elected by the voters, represented the interests of CPS. Saying silly things more often divest makes them any more false than the first time someone tries this. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:38 pm: Between - Father Ted - and - @misterjayem -, the answer is these two schooling us all. - Waguespacked - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:40 pm: Time now for Lori Lightfoot to send out Scott Waguespack to declare victory for the city. - Fixer - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:41 pm: Willy, you can tell that to some folks until you’re blue in the face, but it just won’t stick. Willfully disregarding union workers as somehow being second class citizens when it comes things like contracts is just the current trend for some folks. - Responsa - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:41 pm: Don’t forget that by being out of class and feeling the tension in the air the kids and their parents/caretakers were losers any way you look at it. - LINK - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:41 pm: Enviro at 2:27 pm. Agreed. I usually don’t like anonymous commentators (I did choose one (above) when I worked for the state) but when I read that comment, it crossed my mind that’s why people choose anominity… - SpfdNewb - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:45 pm: No one won and it is arguable that all sides lost, especially the kids. Mayor looked weak with all public communications but seems to have held firm in negotiations. CTU looked greedy but got written commitments for increased staffing. That is my take. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:46 pm: - Fixer - I *know* you’re right, and the close minded will “know”. Thinking it will fly on Facebook, sure… Be well. - City Zen - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:48 pm: ==To those mad about money and costs, also turn that anger to Trump== This ain’t Facebook here. - Downstate - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:49 pm: OW, The mayor wanted 0 days, and CTU wanted 11. CTU only got 5. The mayor got 63% of what she wanted. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:53 pm: - Downstate - === @ad_quig- “I’m not compensating them for days they were out on strike,” Lightfoot says at her PM presser.=== I guess none is now five? Funny thing about speaking and whining about negotiating in public, when you cave from “no”… it makes you look far weaker than the group who got something from “no” Heck, if the mayor told “me” no… odds are I’ll get some of it anyway. - A State Employee Guy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 2:59 pm: Here we see Willy demonstrating his complete lack of understanding as to what the word “negotiation” means. Perhaps a thread on a contract negotiation isn’t the place for your schtick. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:03 pm: - A State Employee Guy - Friend, the plank in your own eye blinds you it appears; === Replace “mayor” with “CTU leadership” and I wholeheartedly agree,.., === :) - PeoriaDem - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:10 pm: It’s gross listening to people say the CTU was “greedy” for wanting a nurse and counselor in every classroom and class sizes south of 35. It’s hilarious listening to people try to spin this as a loss for CTU when 14 days ago MLL was saying there wasn’t a dime available for any of those demands. I guess winning and losing must mean radically different things to different people. - Pundent - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:11 pm: =The mayor wanted 0 days, and CTU wanted 11. CTU only got 5. The mayor got 63% of what she wanted.= Maybe. But the mayor went into this with a bit of a deficit as support for the teachers was higher than the mayors. She had to some how show that forcing the teachers to strike was “worth it.” Not sure she accomplished that. And for whatever reason Mayor Lightfoot has a problem with taking absolute positions (0 days) that she has to quickly backpedal from (ok 5 days). The pattern keeps repeating itself. - Stuntman Bob's Brother - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:19 pm: So Lightfoot, now seeing the damage from a strike, needs to lobby for legislation preventing teachers from striking, the same as cops. Prevent this from happening again. - JS Mill - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:20 pm: =Both sides endured a grueling battle that used up tremendous amounts of their political capital. The CTU won’t have another political test like this for five years. Lightfoot is currently in the midst of multiple political tests. Both sides won some. Both sides lost some. But Lightfoot’s losses were more costly. – MrJM= Unsurprisingly MrJM nails it again. It was a negotiation, nobody was getting everything they wanted, that is how it works. Anytime teachers strike they lose a little, people hammer them for hurting kids by being out of the classroom. And CTU has always been an activist union. That isn’t a criticism either. But Lightford showed herself to be a poor negotiator which comes as no surprise because she knows nothing about school governance. Her statement about no make-up days was dumb. As an administrator I too have grown weary of being painted as the bad guy during negotiations. It is a predictable aspect of the teacher’s shtick when negotiations become contentious. It gets old, but when the camera goes on you have to keep your cool. Lightfoot has demonstrated a habit of this kind of behavior and I don’t think it is a glitch. I don’t think she is a very good mayor and I say that with consideration for the very challenging times the city faces financially. That is the Daley gift that keeps on giving, but she chose the job. Both Lightfoot and Emmanuel were setup for tough negotiations after the two decades of gift giving by Daley. CTU expected big raises because that was the pattern. Emmanuel was pilloried when he tried to address the financial issues. His school closings were a necessity, some of those schools had less than 25% attendance and that is 100% on parents. Parents and teachers should have been too embarrassed to complain about those closings, it was irresponsible to keep those schools open. That might be a long way around the barn to say that the last two mayors have had huge challenges and doing the right thing has not been politically popular but they chose the job. This mayor is making a hard job even harder. - City Zen - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:25 pm: ==MLL was saying there wasn’t a dime available for any of those demands== And that’s changed? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:27 pm: === And that’s changed?=== Then you should be upset with the mayor. Why aren’t you? - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:28 pm: “So Lightfoot, now seeing the damage from a strike, needs to lobby for legislation preventing teachers from striking” Good luck with that, a Democratic mayor lobbying a Democratic state government to strip union rights. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:30 pm: ===needs to lobby for legislation preventing teachers from striking=== You could be arrested for CUI - commenting under the influence - for that one. Where do people like you get the idea that she’s a hardcore Raunerite? - watchdog - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:40 pm: They did what I recommended last night: split the difference and be done with it! - DeniDeni - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:41 pm: Anyone commenting here, were any of you in the room? - Just Me 2 - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:47 pm: === Looks like a pretty good deal. === Unless you’re the taxpayer that has to pick up the tab. Bring on more charter schools. Not only are they better in every measurable way, they don’t cost as much. - Anon - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:47 pm: In the room or with a child in CPS. - Anon - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:49 pm: Charter schools cost more cause money is diverted from CPS. - Been There - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:52 pm: === Teachers can now bank sick days earned after July 1, 2012, from 40 to 244 days.=== That’s basically a years pay going out the door if you go without getting sick long term. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:52 pm: === Unless you’re the taxpayer=== Meh. The taxpayers that are teachers are good. - Chris - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:56 pm: “charter schools … don’t cost as much.” You’re going to have to show your math there. I’ll stipulate that they don’t accrue pension liability, but from what I have seen of the CPS budget, they cost a whole lot more on a per student basis. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 3:59 pm: Both sides hung in there and closed the deal. That’s good for both sides, at this point. Very glad this didn’t drag on another day, and that urgency to get a deal prevailed. - @misterjayem - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 4:04 pm: “Not only are they better in every measurable way, they don’t cost as much.” Unfortunately, neither of those assertions is true. – MrJM - 17% Solution - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 4:08 pm: ==Bring on more charter schools. Not only are they better in every measurable way, they don’t cost as much.== Lol. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, isn’t it. - Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 4:23 pm: I guess the 35 states that don’t allow teachers to strike have it all wrong - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 4:30 pm: === I guess the 35 states that don’t allow teachers to strike have it all wrong=== States’ Rights allows each state to find their own right… Like with Right to Work… or other union rights. Get 60/30 or 71/36 and the Governor, any governor on board. - Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 4:41 pm: Teachers should not be allowed to strike because…………why? Because the job they do is so critically important? If so, why so cheap non teacher taxpayers? - Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 4:46 pm: “And that’s changed?” At least some extra money was found in TIF surpluses, so yeah, it turns out it has changed. - AnotherAnon - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 5:09 pm: Sharkey got schooled in this negotiation. A few hundred nurses and councilors. And no moratorium on closing schools. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 5:13 pm: === A few hundred nurses==== Until a student needs a nurse, then everyone is happy they are there. “A few hundred…” I think your own snarked owned you. - Squeegee - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 5:17 pm: Both took a beating from the folks who were already looking to criticize both. Lightfoot looked like an adult. CTU leadership, the ones in front of the cameras and the loudest on social media, took a beating from both a public perspective and many of the veteran members who don’t like their antics. Expect a contentious battle when those seats are up again next year. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 5:23 pm: === Lightfoot looked like an adult.=== This is quite puzzling. It’s like the adult you see constantly saying no but giving in at the end… and it leaves you to wonder what “no” means to that adult anyway. - Ashland Adam - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 5:58 pm: Sorry Anon. The mayor is an amateur. Sharkey remains in good standing. - TinyDancer(FKASue) - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:05 pm: =Headcount will increase, which means more dues paying members= Actually, what is means is some kid who needs a nurse or a social worker will get one. - Steve - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:06 pm: OW Lightfoot didn’t engage in name calling. But, if you think the union was adult like:stopping traffic isn’t exactly civil behavior. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:07 pm: === stopping traffic isn’t exactly civil behavior.=== Freedom to Assemble. You’re welcome. - Steve - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:23 pm: OW Nice example for the children. No wonder some unions in Chicago got a reputation. https://tinyurl.com/y5h3v5l3 - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:25 pm: “Actually, what is means is some kid who needs a nurse or a social worker will get one.“ That’s fantastic. The union can be seen as doing real well and being inspirational, advancing higher-quality schools and care for students. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:27 pm: === Nice example for the children.=== “Think about the children” is the oldest schtick ever. The last thing you want to do is to teach children to stand up and be counted and do what they feel is right. === WEST LOOP — Nine Chicago Teachers Union protesters were arrested Tuesday outside prominent developer Sterling Bay’s West Loop headquarters. The arrests came during a CTU sit-in at the developer’s building. Teachers earlier in the day protested at the site of Sterling Bay’s unbuilt megaproject Lincoln Yards, arguing tax increment financing dollars being spent for the project should go to education. “We are targeting Lincoln Yards because it’s being funded in part by TIF money that should be going to our schools,” CTU said in a statement. Sterling Bay tweeted that Tuesday’s arrests didn’t come at the request of the developer, but rather “at the request of Fulton West’s new management and ownership.”=== Yeah, they were so disobedient they had to search who called the police. The horror. Meh, they’re not on your lawn, why the concern? - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:36 pm: CTU’s VP, Stacy Davis Gates, said it well, giving up six days pay to get a nurse in school every day. - Squeegee - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:43 pm: @grandson Gates was not a hero in this and there are a lot of people in the union that are not happy with her. We basically settled today for what we could have last week. We took a black eye. She will have a challenge on her hands next year, as will Sharkey and some of the others that increased their visibility. - Squeegee - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 6:47 pm: @Oswego Steve does just want to yell get off my lawn. But believe me when I say it, there are a whole lot of members who are angry that we went from being a labor organization to an organization to…a group of people spreading lies and making personal attacks on people. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 7:04 pm: - Squeegee - I hear ya. Appreciate your thoughtfulness. When the dust settles we are going to see discussions like yours to process and actors in the process assessed beyond what the contract is or is not. And I do appreciate honest assessment of what folks see or feel from the inside, but as pointed as they might be, distance of time gives the closeness to process even more clarity. Best to you. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 7:29 pm: Ninety four percent of CTU members voted to authorize a strike, knowing full-well that they would have likely walked out and what was at stake. CTU delivered pretty well for the members, and for students, especially those in lower-income communities. - Squeegee - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 7:56 pm: Thanks Willy. I had to do a double take for snark. But it appears you were sincere. You are right that time will tell with the contract and what actually happens. My hope is they don’t close more schools to pay for it and instead, start lopping off managerial fat. From an in-law who works for a vendor on facilities side, they’ve already started to freeze spending on supplies in excess of $500 that aren’t an emergency. - Squeegee - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 7:57 pm: It’s amazing some of the comments that get published here and the many others that don’t, even given the guidelines. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 8:02 pm: - Squeegee - Written with respect to you, you read correctly. - Been There - Thursday, Oct 31, 19 @ 10:18 pm: ===CTU’s VP, Stacy Davis Gates, said it well, giving up six days pay to get a nurse in school every day.=== I don’t disagree with hardly anything the CTU was looking for. But I also wonder what its going to cost. Either through increased taxes or the CPS cutting back like potentially closing schools. This is where I think the mayor did a terrible job of communicating. She should have spelled out to the public what everything on the table actually cost. And I mean cost to the taxpayer in specific terms. ie)A 16% increase in teacher pay is the equivalent to raising your property taxes by X, or cutting services by Y, etc. And do it with each of the CTU’s demands. How much would a social worker, nurse, etc in each school actually cost and how will it be paid for. As I said I’m not against these demands but I wonder what the total cost is. - Ashland Adam - Friday, Nov 1, 19 @ 7:13 am: To ‘Been There’s’ comment about cost…. That’s one of the reasons there’s been a focus on TIF developments - the 78 and Lincoln Yards. Illinois and Chicago have made revenue choices over the years that hurt the public but benefit private interests. So let’s invest in the public, ie.: nurses, school psychologists, etc. - 17% Solution - Friday, Nov 1, 19 @ 7:45 am: == As I said I’m not against these demands but I wonder what the total cost is.== If the extra social workers help kids succeed in school and they grow up to be productive member is society do we deduct what we gain from the cost? If the extra social workers stop a kid from being a violent gang member do we deduct what we gain from the cost? https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130513/bridgeport/top-cop-each-murder-costs-city-5-million-every-shooting-costs-1-million/ - Hawkeye - Friday, Nov 1, 19 @ 4:11 pm: I was disappointed to see the Union got up to 10 days of bereavement leave. No obituary needed as evidence and days off needn’t be consecutive. Taking 2 weeks away from the students to bury teacher’s grandmother seems excessive. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.