CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION UNDERSTANDS WHAT THIS STRUGGLE IS ABOUT
The Chicago Teachers’ Union has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the pension reform law enacted earlier this year by the Illinois General Assembly. That law targeted labor leaders who were teachers or public workers who received large public pensions based on their union salaries which were higher than their normal salaries.
No other unions dared to challenge this law as it passed almost unanimously and the Tribune and others made a huge deal out of the large pension amounts. The CTU is challenging it because they understand what laws like this are really about. CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey said the following, ” I would disagree with the characterization that it’s a reform. There is a lot of politics being played, and part of that has to do with looking for people to blame.”
CTU leaders also say reforms to the pension system should include additional revenues to shore up the funds, not just benefit reductions.
This is what makes me so angry when I hear teachers who say things like, “the pension deficit is so large, we
No other unions dared to challenge this law as it passed almost unanimously and the Tribune and others made a huge deal out of the large pension amounts. The CTU is challenging it because they understand what laws like this are really about. CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey said the following, ” I would disagree with the characterization that it’s a reform. There is a lot of politics being played, and part of that has to do with looking for people to blame.”
CTU leaders also say reforms to the pension system should include additional revenues to shore up the funds, not just benefit reductions.
This is what makes me so angry when I hear teachers who say things like, “the pension deficit is so large, we