After being unable to reach an agreement on teachers’ contracts on Tuesday, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union met with a third-party law mediator on Wednesday to begin fact-finding in an effort to reach an agreement.
On Wednesday, both sides submitted comprehensive statements to the fact-finder.
The two groups have been bargaining since April, as the teachers’ contract expires in June. Although some progress has been made and both sides have reached tentative agreements regarding some contract proposals, there are still many sticking points.
The fact-finder, Martin Malin, will review the reports submitted by CPS and CTU, and issue recommendations, which are non-binding. Both parties can accept or reject the recommendations. However, if one party rejects, Malin’s report will be made public and after 30 days, the union can issue a 10-day strike notice.
Since being established in state law in 2010, the fact-finding process has been used three times. In two cases, teachers ultimately went on strike.
During the briefing, the union is requesting the fact-finder to consider several things, including whether the union’s proposals align with the district’s five-year strategic plan, compared to the district’s previous five contract negotiations.” Today it is in a better financial position. And the union’s offers are “fair, reasonable and (that) the district can afford them.”
Before December 24, before CEO Pedro Martínez was given a temporary restraining order following the school board’s vote to fire him, CTU President Stacey Davis Gates said that a “huge amount of bargaining” had taken place. However, since then, the union has said negotiations have essentially stalled.
“It feels like the district is going on strike,” Davis Gates said. “They are choosing to create a process that forces the hands of the members who teach our youth in our schools every day, which is very discouraging.”
District officials disagreed. At a press conference Thursday, Martinez said his team continues to approach contract negotiations following a statement from the district that said they look forward to “meeting our labor partners at the negotiating table and bargaining in good faith. Will continue to do.”
While the CPS said in a statement that it welcomes the fact-finding process as a means of “clearly identifying the issues that need to be dealt with and resolved,” Davis Gates said Wednesday that the process “is not what we bargained for.” “All she talks about is finances, not what the kids need.”
Major proposals unresolved include salary increases and staffing proposals.
The district is offering 4% pay increases for the first two years of the contract, then a 5% cap for the next two years. The union is demanding a 5% increase for the first two years.
CTU deputy general counsel Thad Goodchild said at a press conference Thursday that the proposal is “completely financially achievable,” and would allow the district to retain career teachers, rather than losing them to districts in the suburbs. Where they will be able to build as their career progresses.
“(It) will compensate career teachers more fairly and encourage career teachers to stay in the school district (which) we think is extremely important for the students of the district,” Goodchild said.
Ben Felton, the district’s chief talent officer, said Thursday that CPS can’t afford more than a 4% raise and that it would be “irresponsible” to offer more than that.
Felton said the union’s staffing proposals are also “absolutely unattainable” and that their bid to add thousands of staff members would “endanger the jobs of existing staff members.”
The union reiterated that the district is in a better financial position to settle this contract than in previous years and that their offers are “fair and feasible.”
“The district really wants fact-finders to only look at what’s in their bank account right now, which is like deciding if you can pay rent based on the amount of money you have in your pocketbook instead of your next paycheck,” said CTU researcher Pavlin Jankov. Director.
This year, the district received a record $300 million in tax increment financing, and Jankov said that based on the TIF district expiration schedule, CPS will receive a total of $986 million by 2031, with annual increases of $50 million to $100 million.
This, along with CPS’s financial reserves being higher than at any point in the past two decades, the District’s “debt service (expected) to be low and its borrowing position expected to improve significantly in the coming years, “The union strongly believes the district can afford their proposals.
Michael Sitkowski, the district’s chief budget officer, said the union is “pushing a false narrative” that the district has over a billion dollars in reserves, which he says is not true.
While the district made a one-time decision in 2014 to borrow from the next year’s budget to cover the current year’s costs, this was done to resolve the budget crisis at the time and to coincide with a change in the schedule of upcoming property tax disbursements. Was done for. From the county. However, this was a temporary fix and the district is now dealing with its consequences.
Under Martinez, CPS has worked to reduce borrowing which would cost the district money that would be better used in classrooms. Due to the 2014 decision, the district has had to continue “short-term borrowing for regular expenses”.
The result is that CPS has more money in reserves than it actually has. Sitkowski said the district is “at our end” and they “need more revenue.”
“There has been mention of increasing our deficit to $1 billion as we are already facing a deficit of $750 million. Obviously, we are impressed by this suggestion,” Sitkowski said. “This way of thinking is not only irresponsible, but downright reckless.”
As the district and union provide their briefs to the fact-finder on Wednesday and Friday, Sitkowski said the district is “confident that the fact-finder will verify the district’s precarious financial position” which hopefully “will convince CTU.” A more realistic set of proposals and ultimately settle this contract.
Union officials disagree.
Davis Gates said, “Fact-finding in itself will not lead us to any conclusion, especially not on our side.” “The fact-finding is designed for the employer to win. …It’s just a process, a box that we have to check to get to the next part of the process.
Malin will likely release his recommendations by mid-February, according to the district and union.