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The Chicago Board of Training is among the state’s largest employers — with greater than 41,000 folks on employees as of June 30, 2024.
On high of that, town’s greater than 100 public constitution faculties, which function on contracts accepted by the college board, make use of hundreds of extra employees.
Though scholar enrollment has declined, the variety of lecturers, principals, faculty help employees, and central workplace directors instantly employed by the college district has elevated — rising from round 36,000 employees 5 years in the past to greater than 41,000 within the 2023-24 faculty 12 months.
As of June 30, 2024, greater than 47,000 positions had been budgeted. Nonetheless, not all of those positions are crammed annually and infrequently faculties function with vacancies and long-term substitutes as a substitute of full-time lecturers.
The combination of faculty employees has additionally shifted.
Final faculty 12 months, there have been about 19,500 lecturers, greater than 7,500 educating assistants, 1,500 counselors and social employees, 1,200 faculty safety guards, 1,000 custodians, and 1,000 principals and assistant principals.
Whereas the variety of lecturers and faculty leaders has remained comparatively flat over the previous decade, the variety of faculty social employees and counselors elevated lately after the Chicago Lecturers Union bargained for extra of those positions in its 2019 contract negotiations.
A Chalkbeat evaluation of district staffing data additionally discovered a rise in Particular Training Classroom Assistants, or SECAs, from round 2,500 in 2014 to greater than 6,000 initially of final faculty 12 months. As well as, the variety of faculty nurses roughly doubled prior to now decade — from round 300 to simply over 600 — and the variety of custodians jumped not too long ago from round 700 to greater than 1,000.
Most Chicago faculties wouldn’t have a full-time librarian and haven’t since their ranks dwindled a decade in the past. The Chicago Lecturers Union has stated this can be a place it intends to advocate for in contract talks.
Which unions signify Chicago Public Faculties’ workers?
The Chicago Board of Training has 10 lively collective bargaining agreements with varied unions representing faculty district workers.
CPS principals are additionally taking steps towards bargaining a contract with the district after Illinois lawmakers handed laws to permit faculty leaders to unionize.
The three largest unions that CPS workers belong to are:
- The Chicago Lecturers Union (CTU), which represents greater than 24,000 lecturers, counselors, social employees, and nurses.
- The Service Staff Worldwide Union (SEIU) Native 73, which represents about 11,000 faculty help employees, together with custodians, particular schooling classroom assistants, bus aides, safety officers, crossing guards, and parent-workers.
- UNITE-HERE Native 1, which represents greater than 2,000 lunchroom employees.
The CTU is among the largest and strongest unions in Chicago – and some of the influential lecturers unions throughout the nation.
After 15 years of organizing round broader progressive social points, a former CTU organizer is Chicago mayor, paving the way in which for a probably much less contentious relationship with district administration.
The shift comes after CTU went on strike twice — in 2012 for seven days beneath former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and once more in 2019 for 12 days beneath former Mayor Lori Lightfoot — after acrimonious public disagreements over the way forward for town’s public faculties.
Previously, district leaders and their legal professionals would work to succeed in a tentative settlement with the union and their legal professionals. As soon as that occurred, it could go to union members for a ratification vote after which the college board would vote to approve the deal.
College board members have sat on the bargaining desk prior to now. Underneath Emanuel, faculty board president David Vitale participated in contract talks and offered updates to the general public. Nonetheless, the district’s bargaining group beneath Lightfoot didn’t contain anybody from the college board.
Elected officers have additionally, prior to now, weighed in publicly in regards to the extended cancellation of courses or in help of the lecturers.
As soon as a deal is made, the college board usually has to amend the funds to account for the price of guarantees made within the bargaining settlement, akin to wage raises or extra employees.
The CTU contract expired on June 30 and the college board accepted a $9.9 billion funds for the 2024-25 faculty 12 months in July. By August, talks between the district and union had made little progress after a collection of public bargaining classes over the summer season.
Earlier this 12 months, the district reached an settlement with SEIU Native 73 after greater than a 12 months of bargaining on behalf of faculty help employees, together with custodians, particular schooling classroom assistants, bus aides, safety officers, and crossing guards. The deal contains 4-5% pay raises annually of the settlement and is ready to finish June 30, 2027.
Constitution faculties and different third get together contractors
Hundreds of employees additionally work in public faculties in Chicago, however will not be captured within the district’s staffing information.
This contains the employees at greater than 110 constitution faculties serving practically 55,000 college students.
Constitution faculties are publicly funded, however privately managed. The varsity board evaluates and votes on whether or not to resume or award new constitution faculty agreements, however these faculties in any other case function independently from most of the faculty district’s guidelines and insurance policies, together with union contracts.
Nonetheless, many constitution faculty lecturers are unionized and represented by the CTU, although every constitution community has its personal contract.
Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.
