January, 30 2018, 10:30am EDT
"We're Stronger together!" CTU Members Vote to Merge With Unionized Charter Educators
Charter lobby bashed merger in run-up to vote. Unions call merger an opportunity to hold exploitative operators accountable and better support students’ needs.
WASHINGTON
The CTU Rules & Elections Committee certified final results this evening on union members' vote to merge with ChiACTS Local 4343, which represents union educators who work for charter operators in Chicago. Proposed constitutional changes also embed language on racial, social and economic justice into the CTU's constitution.
According to tonight's certified vote totals, of 16,206 members voting on the merger question, 70.65% voted to support the merger. On the second question, which included creating greater representation at smaller schools, lowering part-time/substitute dues and adding language committing to racial, social and economic justice, 16,235 members voted, with 81.69% voting in favor of that question.
"Our members have spoken," said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey. "We've declared that we're stronger together in one big union - and we embrace our common struggle to support our workers, our students, their parents and our neighborhoods. Our two unions share the same goals: an end to school privatization and charter expansion, a living wage and a fair contract for workers, and most importantly, classroom resources and supports that allow our students not just to survive but to thrive and grow into engaged, empowered, productive adults."
The charter lobby blasted the merger proposal in the run-up to the vote, echoing past charges that a merger between CTU Local 1 and ChiACTS Local 4343, which represents workers at more than 30 charter schools in Chicago, would erode the 'independence' of charter schools, serve as a way for the CTU to 'grab power,' and 'undermine the charter movement.'
"Educators in district and charter school share the same challenges and the same commitment to our students and the public good," said ChiACTS President Chris Baehrend. "Together we can more effectively fight for more fair, more equitable funding for our students and their needs - especially for our underserved Black and Brown students and their families - and against the corporate privatizers and profit-taking business interests that have bled the public coffers of precious education dollars.
An affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), CTU is the third largest teachers local in the country and the largest local union in Illinois.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
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According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
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