CHICAGO — Negotiators for the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools met Monday to hammer out a new contract for thousands of teachers and staff.
Thad Goodchild, deputy general counsel with the Chicago Teacher’s Union, says they’re looking for transformational change and a more inclusive way to bargain.
“We are looking to start these negotiations from places of agreement,” Goodchild said.
“And our classroom teachers (and) instructional leaders, they’ll all be inside of bargaining [Tuesday] making presentations,” added CTU president Stacey Davis-Gates.
During their mayoral tenures, Lori Lightfoot and predecessor Rahm Emanuel famously clashed with CTU in bitterly fought negotiations.
“We’re getting things together,” Davis-Gates said.
The first formal bargaining session ended after a two-hour meeting. CTU says a new contract for about 25,000 teachers and staffers lays the foundation for the most ambitious contract proposal ever, with what union president Stacey Gates-Davis calls ‘open bargaining.’
“One of the proposals that we’ve made for open bargaining is green spaces and sustainability in our school communities,” Stacey-Gates said.
CTU pointed to the urgent need to replace lead pipes in older schools, but critics criticized the new arrangement.
“Johnson should recuse himself from these negotiations,” said Mailee Smith, with the right-leaning Illinois Police Institute, who suggests that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson can’t be impartial given CTU’s financial support for his campaign.
Smith focused on the nearly $400 million budget deficit projected for the 2024-25 school year.
“These demands show that CTU is completely out of touch with what Chicagoans can afford,” Smith said.
Chicago Public Schools said in a written statement Monday:
“Contract talks between CPS and the Chicago teachers union have been initiated. The district looks forward to productive conversations with our union partners.”
WGN reached out to Johnson and City Hall for comment and has yet to hear back.