Chicago Teachers Union joins forces with city’s firefighters to secure labor contracts
The Chicago Teachers Union said on Friday that they are joining forces with the Fire Fighters Local Union 2 to push for a deal on their separate labor contracts.
The Chicago Teachers Union said on Friday it is joining forces with the Fire Fighters Local Union 2 to push for a deal on their respective labor contracts.
The unions’ collaboration is a “natural gathering,” according to Patrick Cleary, president of the Chicago Fire Fighters Local Union 2 at a news conference Friday afternoon. “We both have public safety issues where the schools are in dire need, firehouses are dire need and the vehicles at the Chicago Fire Department … are falling apart.”
CTU is pushing to land a contract Chicago Public Schools doesn’t seem “ready to settle,” Stacy Davis Gates, teachers union president said Friday.
“We’re also going to put pressure on the bosses in this city to give the firefighters what they need as well.”
The unions were vague about specific plans to demonstrate together next week — just that they plan to “unify” as CPS is on spring break.
The “solidarity pledge” came as CTU and the district are closing in on a full year of contentious negotiations in which the district’s CEO Pedro Martinez was fired by the old mayoral-appointed board and a new 21-member partially-appointed and elected board is divided. Underlying the discord is money, or, how to provide more resources to a school district in financial straits.
The teachers union started with 748 proposals in mid-April and submitted its last, best and final offer on March 4 with five sticking points.
Those were narrowed down to just three this week: time between teacher evaluations, additional elementary instructional preparatory time and raises for veteran teachers. It seemed like both sides were closer than ever to an agreement Thursday, but neither CPS or CTU could provide an answer as to when they expect to compromise.
Davis Gates blamed Martinez Friday for the delay.
“How much prep time is Pedro getting to get to his next job?” she asked. “How much prep time is he getting to give himself a jump start at his next career on the dime of Chicago taxpayers?”
During negotiations on Thursday, the district proposed more money for veteran pay and increased minutes for elementary prep time, according to both CTU and CPS.
1 of 4
ExpandCPS is waiting for CTU’s response, it said Friday. The two sides are less than $10 million away from an agreement, district officials said, but have some disagreements on how to “structure” that money. They also disagree over where to add extra planning time into the elementary school day.
“We have been very clear on what are the things that we will compromise — like we’re increasing financial incentives, we’re increasing some options,” said Bogdana Chkoumbova, CPS chief education officer, at a Friday news conference just moments after CTU’s concluded.
“And what are the things that we’re not necessarily so comfortable compromising, such as things that impact students and impact services in our schools.”
The slowdown comes after almost a year of negotiations and a monthslong public budget dispute over how CPS would be able to pay for the proposals in the new contract, in addition to a $175 million pension payment to the city for non-teaching staff.
On Thursday — the day before the announced contract holdup — school board President Sean Harden delayed a vote on a budget amendment that would have paved the path for accounting for the costs of both. The already debt-laden district settled its $9.9 billion budget in July without factoring in CTU’s contract or the pension payment — which is the obligation of the city.
The delayed vote was notable because the amendment would have opened the door to a $242 million debt borrowing scenario proposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former union organizer and close ally of the CTU and its President, Stacy Davis Gates.
After a last-minute meeting with city, district, and teachers union stakeholders on Wednesday, including the mayor, Davis Gates was firm that a final contract proposal would need to be reached before the budget amendment vote, as per protocol.
Davis Gates has been unable to get the contract over the line, despite $300 million in extra money released from taxing districts to CPS this year. That’s in part because the district is facing serious financial headwinds.
Jill Jaworski, the city’s chief financial officer, recently proposed that CPS could get $240 million in money released from an existing debt service fund, which school districts use to pay off debt similar to a mortgage or a construction loan on a house.
Martinez has said the proposed borrowing strategies would saddle the district further in debt. Meanwhile, the teachers union, in recent weeks, has outwardly supported the borrowing scenarios proposed by Johnson’s aides.
Pavlyn Jankov, CTU’s research director, called Jaworski’s refinancing plan “a standard tool in the district’s arsenal and, given the terms in front of (CPS) could make absolute sense as a way to update this year’s budget” in a statement to the Tribune.
“Solvency for the Chicago Public Schools isn’t going to come in the short term, and we need Chicago public schools in the long term,” Davis Gates said on Friday, when asked about CPS’ budget gap.
Hamdan Ballal was one of 3 Palestinians detained in village of Susiya, a witness said. No Other Land won the 2025 Oscar for best documentary.
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Jude Bellingham was fortunate not to have been given his marching orders in England's victory over Latvia.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Having already been booked in the first half, Bellingham looked fortunate to escape a second yellow for a mis-timed challenge
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Ed Westwick and Amy Jackson are proud parents to a baby boy.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
In a new Instagram post Aaron Goodwin thanks fans for their 'love and support' after his wife's attempt to hire someone to murder him. This is the first time we're heard from Aaron since the news broke. Meanwhile Impractical Jokers star Joe Gatto is facing accusations of sexual assault by a fan and former employee.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Uzo Aduba stars as a brilliant detective in this high-energy, light-hearted murder mystery show on Netflix
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Pokémon TCG's Destined Rivals set launches May 30, 2025, featuring Team Rocket's Pokémon and iconic Trainer’s Pokémon.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Having already been booked in the first half, Bellingham looked fortunate to escape a second yellow for a mis-timed challenge
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The Judgment Day stands tall once again.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The lineup for next week's WWE Raw is already starting to take shape. Scheduled for a special start time of 3pm EST. / 12 noon PST., the following matches and segments will take place as part of the March 31 episode of WWE Raw in London, England: * Logan Paul calls out AJ Styles* Jimmy
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who co-directed the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land,' was beaten by Israeli settlers and detained Monday, according to his co-director.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
A portrait of President Donald Trump hanging in the Colorado state capitol will be removed after he complained it was "purposefully distorted." Artist Sarah Boardman painted the portrait during the first Trump term, and it was unveiled in 2019, The Associated Press reported. The Colorado Republican ...
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Pierce Brosnan reveals that he was effectively dumped over the phone by the producers of the James Bond series.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
A major title match with WrestleMania implications has been announced for the March 31st episode of WWE RAW.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
"It's Batman's new call sign"
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.