Health Contributions, Contract Length, Rehiring of Displaced Workers Among the Many CTU Victories in Chicago School Standoff
The seven-and-change days long strike by the Chicago Teachers Union has ended with the CTU deciding to return to work after a majority of their 26,000 members supported a contract offer last night. The compromise agreement will be finalized in the upcoming weeks and will include a 7% increase in base salary over the next three years.
As most observers note, however, the strike was never truly about wages. It was rooted in a collective parent and teacher desire to beat back a “corporate school reform agenda” that has left the city’s schools depressed and deprived of vital educational necessities (you know, like books).
In statements following the announcement, both sides seemed pleased with the outcome. Chicago Mayor and former Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, said of the negotiations,