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Emanuel responds to Lewis threat

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Illinois

* CTU President Karen Lewis…

“We do not know if Mayor (Rahm) Emanuel can stand another teachers’ strike, especially at a time when confidence in his leadership is at an all-time low and the city is in an uproar over another police shooting of another unarmed African-American youth,” she said. “Do not force our hand.”

That’s some seriously over the top hardball right there.

* Mayor Emanuel responded…

“I want the teachers to be part of the solution. … I believe we can strengthen our classrooms and strengthen our teachers’ pensions,” Emanuel said.

“Chicago taxpayers have stepped up to be part of the solution. The State of Illinois, for the first time, has stepped up to be part of the solution. The [CPS] central bureaucracy, in the sense of the fat, has stepped up to be part of the solution. And I think the teachers should be part of the solution in not only stabilizing their finances, but strengthening our classrooms.”

Emanuel pointed to test results that show CPS fourth-graders “lead the nation” in reading gains while eight-graders are doing in the same in math. He also pointed to a high school graduation rate that, he claimed, is “climbing at a higher rate” than the rest of the country.

“I believe the public knows that. They are willing to step up to be part of the solution … as it comes to stabilizing the teachers’ pension. The state has been an issue for all of us for 70 years [by treating] teachers and taxpayers in Chicago differently than they treat Downstate. We’ve now resolved that issue. But teachers — as it relates to securing their own pensions dating to a decision Mayor [Harold] Washington made for one year — need to be part of it,” he said.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:23 am

Comments

Lewis is right that Emanuel is in a tough spot here, but she shouldn’t underestimate the public backlash from a CTU strike.

Comment by Birdseed Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:34 am
She’s a disaster.

Comment by Jackie Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:37 am
It seemed last strike the public was largely with the teachers, but right now I just cannot see those of us in the city WIDELY supporting the teachers this time around

Comment by Downstate GOP Faithless Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:46 am
@ Jackie

I second that.

If she keeps this up, then public opinion is going to flip…fast.

Comment by Chicago_Downstater Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:47 am
===If she keeps this up, then public opinion is going to flip===

Maybe. But Chicagoans despise Rahm and some primary polling showed that the CTU was the most popular institution in the city.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:50 am
Didn’t Karen Lewis endorse the deal proposed by CPS earlier in the spring, only for the rank and file of CTU to reject it? Has Lewis lost control of the union? And yes, there will be less sympathy for CTU this time around…not that Rahm will automatically benefit.

Comment by Nancy Kaszak>>>>Blago Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:52 am
I don’t see how they can realistically think that CTU will be able to keep paying only 2% of their 9% pension share forever.

Comment by James the Intolerant Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:55 am
@Rich

I agree that it would take a lot to push public opinion out of the CTU’s corner & hatred of Rahm won’t help. I just think that Lewis’ inflammatory posturing along with the new narrative that everyone is sacrificing but the teachers might just do it.

Lewis has a lot of cushion, but the second she runs out of the padding it’s going to get ugly for the CTU. I guess the question is: How thick is that cushion? We’ll see.

Comment by Chicago_Downstater Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:58 am
I agree - the CTU’s support my dwindle a little, but that doesn’t mean Rahm wins.
It’s going to take some type of political miracle for Rahm.

Comment by Bleh Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 10:59 am
I agree that I’m not sure a strike would immediately flip public opinion against the teachers, but the first (Heaven forbid) school kid to get shot on the streets during what would be school hours would.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:00 am
Just like Karen Lewis — let’s take advantage of people being killed in the street so we can increase our salaries. Wonderful.

Comment by Just Me Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:03 am
All I can say is I hope they call their strike either when it is 90 degrees out or minus 10 so they can enjoy the picket lines

Comment by Sue Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:05 am
Unrelated to Chicago. Sadly, I just read a long time local teacher and legislator Vincent Persico has passed away.

Comment by DuPage Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:07 am
Rahm and Lewis are a little like Hillary and Trump. Who do we like?

Comment by Keyser Soze Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:10 am
I’m with Bleh.
There are no winners in case of a strike. Rahm is unpopular and will probably stay unpopular. But, I doubt that the voters have the taste for another strike. One strike is meaningful but another one, it seems greedy and repetitive.

We need to move forward and greed doesn’t translate well to the normal citizen who is struggling too. Not to mention that the last strike led to 50 schools being closed.

Comment by Belle Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:12 am
Political posturing on both sides. Lewis can say almost anything now. And she kinda does. Her base, teachers, love her brand of crazy. Emanuel, conversely, really can’t be himself because he’s in a very tough spot so he must always try to look and sound conciliatory.

The posturing is interesting and fun but really doesn’t matter. Because the math problem before both Emanuel and Lewis is more than daunting; it is overwhelming. And it may just swallow them both whole.

Comment by Deft Wing Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:28 am
I wonder which side will be the first to use the term hostages.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:38 am
I’m with her.

Comment by crazybleedingheart Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:43 am
1. What difference does it make how popular the mayor is? There still has to be money to pay the CTU’s demands, which there is not.

2. By “State of Illinois,” Rahm means Illinois taxpayers, which means Chicago taxpayers. Again.

Comment by gopower Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 11:52 am
== Didn’t Karen Lewis endorse the deal proposed by CPS earlier in the spring, only for the rank and file of CTU to reject it? ==

Yep. Lewis and the realists in the upper echelon of her union knew that was a fair deal. But she’s fed the membership nothing but heated rhetoric and a steady diet of easy answers (a financial transaction tax will pay for everything!) instead of sober realism. As such, any compromise as seen as a sell out.

Too many rank-and-file teachers think if they hate Rahm hard enough, all their problems will go away. I wish it was that easy.

Comment by Tony T. Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 12:00 pm
James The Intolerant - do you understand that having the district pick up the teacher pension portion is a savings for the government, don’t you?

The pension pickups are negotiated as a part of the teacher pay package, in lieu of a higher “salary”. By doing that, the result is a lower nominal salary, which makes the later pension lower.

Comment by titan Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 12:02 pm
====“Chicago taxpayers have stepped up to be part of the solution. The State of Illinois, for the first time, has stepped up to be part of the solution. The [CPS] central bureaucracy, in the sense of the fat, has stepped up to be part of the solution.====

Nope. Nope. And nope.

Comment by From the 'Dale to HP Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 12:21 pm
==The pension pickups are negotiated as a part of the teacher pay package, in lieu of a higher “salary”==

In 1992, CPS teachers got a 7% COLA raise, plus their step increases, plus that 7% pension pickup.

What “higher” salary would have been negotiated without the pickup? A 15% raise? 20%? In a recession year?

There are plenty of other CTU contract years with almost as generous increases in total pay yet also included the pickup. There is no evidence of suppressed salaries due to the pickup. If so, zero to minimal wage increases would have occurred all these years.

Comment by City Zen Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 12:57 pm
=Maybe. But Chicagoans despise Rahm and some primary polling showed that the CTU was the most popular institution in the city.=

True. But never in the past have voters associated their property taxes with excessive teacher union demands. After $588 million in property tax increases for police and fire pensions hit last month, folks began to pay attention. When the school board passes $250 million more to save teacher pensions, and then they hear Lewis whining that the nice pay raise on the table isn’t enough, public opinion might indeed turn.

Comment by Chicago Hope Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 1:16 pm
Titan, the pick-up was in lieu of pay increases for a number of years, after those years, I believe 3 years, salary increases began again, and the 7% pickup has remained ever since. So CTU has received the pick-up and pay increases.

Comment by James the Intolerant Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 1:26 pm
Sounds like they did well in 1992.

But once a district does the pension pickup, it essentially becomes the new base structure going forward. SO (typically) the teachers would get the pickup rather than a raise (or a larger raise) and go forward from there - raises in future years would not be ruled out, and the pension pickup would go on (or else need to be translated into a bigger raise later when the district switches back).

Comment by titan Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 1:56 pm
I believe that the citizens of Chicago have tired of the Karen Lewis saga the radical 60s rhetoric and the threats.

Comment by Regular democrat Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 2:01 pm
So Chicagoans have the greatest favorable for CTU, the folks who’ve done perhaps the worst job of educating the children of any major city and perhaps the most overcompensated of the lot. They also are more than willing to walk out on their kids out of no more than greed.

Perhaps that’s the most illustrative example of bad choices by Chicagoans that created the mess they have today….Chicagoans just seem never to learn…

Comment by Illinois Bob Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 2:46 pm
I’m with Rahm.

Comment by Groucho Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 5:32 pm
CTU is a hated entity. Nothing more than pigs at the trough.

Comment by Ron Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 6:18 pm
Chicagoans are tired of CTU. People are pulling their kids out of the system due the outrageous demands of Lewis and Sharkey.

Comment by Ron Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 6:21 pm
CPS will likely lose thousands of students this coming school year.

Comment by Ron Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 6:22 pm
Thank Karen and Jesse.

Comment by Ron Thursday, Aug 11, 16 @ 6:22 pm