When it was reported that four Chicago schools had voted to bend to the Mayor’s pressure and accept the longer day, you would have thought from the news reports that a cure for cancer had been discovered.
Four schools! One school was reported to have 15 teachers. That meant as few as 8 may have voted for the extra 90 minutes at that one school.
The Chicago media are the biggest Rahm sucks you can imagine. No claim by the Mayor is too stupid not to be swallowed whole by these court jesters.
Now the Chicago Teachers Union is asserting that 30 schools have voted to reject the Mayor’s offer of working an extra 90 minutes with no plan for how to use the time and, oh, a 2% cut in pay.
“Not a single school voted down waivers. Not true,” (CPS press flack Becky) Carroll said in an email. “Only four have voted on waivers and they all supported them.”
But the CTU is making a different claim.
Amos Alonzo Stagg Elementary School, one of the schools on the union’s list, did hold a vote, according to the school’s union representative and its principal.
Cherry Williams, a third grade teacher and union delegate at Stagg, said teachers at her school voted 24 to 1 against implementing a longer day.
“Basically, they looked at the math and that the 2 percent wasn’t a good deal,” Williams said. “It wasn’t feasible for us.”
Stagg Principal Ruth Allene Miller confirmed a vote was taken at her school but would not comment on the outcome.
In an email sent to its members, the CTU said:
We have evidence of many voting irregularities at the schools that voted for the waiver.
CPS has refused to observe past practice and allow our member 48 hours prior notification of a waiver vote. This time is necessary to allow people to think about their decision and discuss the issue comprehensively.
CPS allowed non-union members to participate in the waiver votes in violation of the contract and excluded others from voting who are union members.
Language in the actual waiver suggests that we would be waiving additional rights that are related to a longer school day. This opens the door to voiding other parts of the contract.
All of these strong-arm tactics are contrary to good faith collective bargaining which only works when both sides discuss pertinent issues at the table.
Fred Klonsky 