Chicago teachers union rejects ‘serious offer’ from district

A bargaining team for the Chicago teachers’ union will decide on Monday whether to accept a contract offer from the financially troubled district, averting a potential strike and preventing a new embarrassment for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Members of the Teachers Union are holding a news conference at 3:30 p.m. Monday to formally announce their vote on what the union had termed a “serious offer”.

Negotiations have been ongoing for more than a year, and members of the union have already authorized a strike if necessary. That group would have decided whether the entire union membership could vote it up or down.

Lewis later admitted she was one of the people taken by surprise by the bargaining team turning down the offer, although she said she saw it coming last week nearly immediately after the contract details were presented to the full complement of 40 bargaining team members.

In exchange, teachers would have to contribute more of their pay toward their pensions and make higher health care contributions.

Claypool has made it clear the city wants to eliminate a decades-old agreement in which the district pays 7 percent of the teachers 9 percent contribution to their pension fund. CPS would stop paying half of that in July, and the remaining half a year later.

“This offer is a true compromise that requires sacrifices from both sides so that we can protect what is most important: the gains our students are making in their classrooms”. In return, the teachers will see a reduction in testing, more autonomy in grading and reduced paperwork.

Talks picked up after Republicans proposed legislation earlier this year allowing for a state takeover of Chicago schools. CPS also would halt economic layoffs for the duration of the deal.

“Chicago Public Schools (CPS) challenges are a revenue-based problem because two of the three biggest cost drivers are things that have to be paid: pensions and debt service (which includes the swap termination payments)”, CTU President Karen Lewis said in a statement Monday afternoon.