Chicago Teachers Union

One important issue is that their pension fund has rules about working while retired. These rules are written into the law that governs the fund. PSRPs who are hired back into CPS risk losing some or all of their pension payments if they come out of retirement to work. This is in contrast to retired teachers, who are now allowed up to 120 days of work in CPS without forfeiting pension payments (their pension fund is separate and governed by separate laws). I don't have all the details, but you could find out more from https://www.meabf.org—the website of the Municipal Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. ~Nate from CTU Communications

Thank you for your support. I hope you can help spread the United Working Families petition at bit.ly/safecps2022 for safe schools. Hopefully, we can get some safety mitigations in our schools: an effective COVID testing program, PPE provided to students and sensible metrics for when a surge reaches the level of mandatory remote learning. It will take the combined will of educators, students and parents to get the safety we all deserve.

An important question. For starters, CPS should hire back the librarians that have been pushed out of our schools over the past decade. Librarians teach students how to access information. The many aspects of literacy that librarians support include: - Learning to search for the information students need - Learning to spot #FakeNews - Learning to rate sources - Learning to balance sources to get the fullest view of a topic - Curating high quality collections of both books and eBooks - Developing a love of reading that supports creative work There are just over 100 school librarians for more than 500 district-run schools. Approximately 275,000 students in Chicago are missing the instruction and experiences that a school librarian and library provide. And librarians don't just handle books, high quality school libraries include MakerSpaces, filled with all sorts of STEM resources like robotics, 3-D printers and more. Support librarians and give our kids a leg up for the future.

The short answer is “Not yet.” We’re sorry to tell you that the Board of Education has still not agreed to a fair contract that makes our working conditions—our students’ learning conditions—more equitable, better managed and fully resourced. We’re going to keep fighting. By sticking together and standing strong, we’re making sure the schools we march back into have all they need and all that students deserve.

Yes, Mary! We’re so glad you want to join. Retired members are essential to build our solidarity and dues are only $50 per year. Go to https://www.ctulocal1.org/card and fill out the application. CTU Retired Members is what you pick for Job Title and supply the last four digits of your social for verification purposes. Your application will be delivered to our Membership Department, which will process your records.

Short answer: 10 -- check in with your field rep (look yours up at ctulocal1.org/reps ) for further details. Bereavement leave is governed by Board Rule 4-14(b): https://www.cpsboe.org/content/documents/sec._4-14.pdf Bereavement Leave. The Chief Executive Officer or his/her designee shall grant employees, other than substitute teachers, and part-time/seasonal employee, paid bereavement leaves, as follows: 1. A leave not to exceed ten (10) weekdays, including holidays and layoff days, at the death of the eligible employee’s parent, parent-in-law, stepparent, domestic or civil union partner’s parent, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, child, stepchild, sibling of the employee, provided that the last five (5) days of such a leave shall be applied against the employees’ sick leave bank; and ...

Thanks for contacting us. Overall information about unemployment benefits under the governor's bill passed in June was sent to members by email at the time and is available on our website at: https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/important-psrp-info-on-end-of-year-assignments-and-summer-unemployment-benefits/. If you have more specific questions about your personal situation, I suggest you reach out to your field representative. Find their name at https://www.ctulocal1.org/reps

Teachers pay 9% of our salary into the pensions. We are barred by law from getting social security for our work in CPS. The low funding level of our pensions is because CPS and politicians refused to pay what they owed into our fund. Fair is fair. We work hard for our students and deserve a stable retirement. And if other people aren't getting a fair retirement, we'll support them as they fight for what's fair. When we fight, we all win.

Yes, we host this training, although it is a CPS training, officially.

Hi, Toni. We do, under CPS Board Rules Section 14.4(b): A leave not to exceed 5 week days, including holidays and layoff days, at the death of the eligible employee’s grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, or first cousin of the employee, provided that all days of such leave shall be applied against the employee’s sick leave bank. See this link: https://www.cpsboe.org/content/documents/complete_board_rules_-_february_2019.pdf Our current contract language with the board clarifies this a bit in Article 33-4. The link to that contract language is here: https://www.ctulocal1.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CTU_Contract_2015-2019.pdf We're demanding stronger contract language for domestic partners and parents of spouses AND to make that time off non-consecutive. See our 1/19 contract proposals to the BOE behind the Memberlink firewall: https://members.ctulocal1.org/default.aspx

Jean, we’re so happy you want to volunteer for CTU’s effort to win citywide elections for the schools and city our students deserve. If you are talking about this morning, in particular, most of our organizers around yesterday’s elections spent the morning at the Board of Education meeting (we wear multiple hats around here). A great place to volunteer is in the Get Active section on our Chicago Elections 2019 page at http://ctulocal1.org/vote!

Hi, Brian. The behavior can vary wildly, from unfair discipline to disparaging remarks or abusive language. If you've got specific concerns about your principal, you should reach out to directly your field rep and discuss your issues with them to determine next steps. Find your field rep here: https://www.ctulocal1.org/reps/