The Chicago Teachers Union is negotiating a new contract and making $50 billion in demands that include significant pay hikes, abortions, services for migrants, and required LGBTQ-related training.
In March, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates declared that the upcoming four-year contract “will cost $50 billion and 3 cents. And so what? That’s audacity. That’s Chicago.”
To put the figure in context, the 2023 Illinois state budget is $50.4 billion.
The Chicago Public Schools budget will exceed $9 billion this year – up nearly 30% from $7.4 billion only five years ago.
The CPS spent more than $21,000 per student – far above the national average of $14,347. However, only 21% of the city’s eighth graders were proficient readers, according to the most recent Nation’s Report Card.
Included in the massive contract, are provisions for abortions, migrant services, and required LGBTQ+ training.
Gates is demanding at least 9% wage increases each year over the next four years, which would push the average salary from the current rate of $93,182 to $144,620 in the 2027-2028 school year.
The union is also calling for the district to hire 2,500 new teacher aides.
According to Fox News, the leaked demands of the Chicago Teachers Union include “100% coverage benefits for abortion care, 100% coverage benefits for fertility including full coverage for storage of embryos and any other frozen storage needs.”
Another supposed demand is that the taxpayers will need to provide $2,000 in academics, transportation, and mental health counseling to each migrant in the city. The union is also allegedly requiring that all of the 646 public schools to have a “newcomer liaison” for new students as well as migrant students. There is also an alleged requirement to transform unused school facilities into housing accommodations for illegal immigrants.
The union purportedly is demanding that every school have at least one gender-neutral restroom. Another reported requirement is that every counselor and social worker undergo yearly training on “LGBTQ+ issues.”
According to the leaked documents, the union wants to prevent any member from being forced to inform parents when a student changes gender.
The teachers union requires a meeting with the superintendent after any “traumatic event” to discuss closing the school, The Federalist reported.
Gates – who sends her own son to a private Catholic school – told the Chicago Sun-Times last month: “We’re a labor union that understands the power of solidarity and the power of work stoppage.”
The Chicago Teachers Union has deep ties to Mayor Brandon Johnson – a former CTU legislative coordinator who teachers unions gave him $5.6 million in campaign funds.
The teachers union contract expires in June.
Also Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celebrity News
