The Chicago Teachers Union is a political powerhouse, and its raw power was on full display at the May 3rd House of Delegates meeting.
In a scene resembling a Chicago Bulls pregame introduction of Michael Jordan, the CTU’s very own celebrity Mayor Brandon Johnson entered the Jacqueline Vaughn Union Hall to the cheers of delegates and the flashing of cell phones.
“I don’t want to start a fight,” Mayor Elect Johnson said, “Every time I come in here your union dues go up.”
Delegates laughed to the Mayor’s reference to the lawsuit filed by Members First that claimed the union was not supposed to spend member’s money on politics without approval.
“We all play an incredible role to unite the City of Chicago,” he said. “Watch out for the power of the Chicago Teachers Union!”
That power and deft political manuevering was able to convince the delegates that the proposed budget and a $161 dues increase for next school year had no objections. The CTU ruling caucus CORE made sure all speakers at the microphone spoke in favor of the budget and the necesity of the dues increase in order to fight for more revenue for the schools, fund future elected school board candidates and green sustainable schools, and organize upcoming battles to unionize charter schools and eliminate the Tier 2 Pension disaster.
Every speaker who spoke in favor of the budget was either a CTU Executive Board member or CTU Trustee.
“What we pay in dues is nothing compared to what we get,” said an emphatic delegate from LaSalle II Magnet School.
Frank McDonald the delegate from Washington High School and a founding member of the opposition caucus Members First told the union to be careful about its plans to introduce its own progressive tax on teachers in the future if there are not enough veteran teachers and more younger teachers resulting in less union due collections.
Unlike fractious budget battles in the past, the CTU’s political success - they now control not only the Mayor’s Office but also a majority of the City Council seats - was more than evident Wednesday night.
Vice President Jackson Potter, who founded CORE and was the key engineer of its political rise, said the power of the union is evident when the Chicago Public Schools is asking the union to sit in on important requests for proposals from healthcare vendors. It was a constant fight in the past, he noted.
“This is the first time a Mayor has addressed the House of Delegates, or at least since I’ve been here,” Potter said. “It there’s ever a time to dream big, it’s now.”
He told delegates to be cognizant and pro-active with their students to prevent the traditional spike in violence over Memorial Day weekend as the weather warms up, otherwise the right-wing opposition to Mayor Johnson will have ammunition to tarnish his office.
The Mayor Johnson reference to members dues increasing with his presence was later addressed when a speaker asked the union to talk about the lawsuit filed.
Delegate and Chicago Teachers Pension Fund Trustee Quentin Washington said he wanted names of who would dare file a lawsuit attacking the union’s political spending.
CTU General Counsel Robert Bloch said the three members who filed the lawsuit and just appealed the pro-CTU decision were Mary Esposito-Usterbowski, Froy Jimenez and Phil Weiss.
Usterbowski ran against Gates in the last union election for President, Jimenez was not endorsed by the union when he ran for state senator and alderman, and Weiss is a Chicago Teachers Pension Fund Trustee who heads the Investment Committee.
All are members of the opposition caucus Members First.
It should be added that Washington’s call for a witchhunt was probably a political stunt - CORE will be running against Weiss in the upcoming Pension Trustee elections.
“This lawsuit jeopardizes the entire union,” Bloch said. “It invites the Courts to take over the union. Right-wing forces are always behind these lawsuits to destroy the union.”
Bloch said it was ironic that the anti-union Janus Supreme Court decision that allows members to choose to join their union rather than automatically pay dues now allows the union the freedom to spend all its money on politics.
This has been a contention of long-time delegate and former PACT member Lou Pyster who constantly questions CTU political spending without delegate approval.
Pyster also pleaded with the CTU to stop the attacks on other members and be civil to all.
“We need to respect disagreements,” he said.
But the era of forgiveness or civility has given way to raw political power that is showing no mercy toward any opposition that they deem harmful and destructive to the Chicago Teachers Union.
Powerful CTU Politics on Display at House of Delegates May Meeting
As my father told me once, remember people are beholden to their paycheck. When you're paid nothing, you're beholden to no one but yourself!
You have accuracies in your writing maybe that's why George didn't let you write for substance anymore