Chicago teachers union demanding 30% pay increase over two years

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That message appears at the bottom of Chicago Tribune article reporting that the CTU wants a 30% pay increase over the next two years, plus a reduction in class size, plus additional teachers, plus more time off for conferences and preparation. With all of those demands, and the state of the school system in Chicago, is it any wonder that there would be abusive language directed at these cretins?

The Chicago Teachers Union is asking for raises amounting to 30 percent over the next two years, the opening salvo in heated contract negotiations with school officials who are implementing a longer school day across Chicago Public Schools next school year.

Documents obtained by the Tribune show that in the face of Mayor
Rahm Emanuel's expansion of the school day, the union has led with an offer seeking a 24 percent raise in the 2012-13 school year and a 5 percent increase the following year, the net effect being 30 percent.

It may be playing hardball, or it could be, as one education expert described it, an "exorbitant offer" that ignores the district's growing financial constraints.


As she left CTU headquarters for contract negotiations Thursday, union President Karen Lewis declined to comment on the details of the proposal.


"We are not negotiating this in the public," Lewis said.

It's not like they're doing a bang-up job. The graduation rate for Chicago high school students still hovers around 50%. And secret negotiations when taxpayer money is involved should be refused. The public has every right to know where it's tax dollars will be spent. It is indicative of the fear of taxpayers felt by the CTU because they are fully aware how they have failed the public in educating their children so egregiously.

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