Accessed June 01, 2020. Our courage, our organizing, our value are necessary in this moment.. In 2017, Ms. Davis Gates was elected Chair of United Working Families, an independent political organization by and for working-class people and our movements. And it also is paralyzing, because youre trying to make sense out of nonsense.. It was all I could do to refrain from leaping up from my desk at work and cheering. Gatess allies, though, credit her with helping transform the landscape at the citys 636 public schools, which are on track to add a nurse and social worker to every building by 2024a hard-fought victory in the strike three years ago. It felt like the humanity was removed from us. I feel real accountable for unpacking that. The teacher alleged that she was being forced to subsidize CTUs speech, and this was a violation of her own first amendment rights. There was a movement afoot to say our union has to be more than a place that bargains a contract for a finite amount of time, Gates says. The public face of Chicagos teachers, who stand squarely at the center of the countrys labor movement and culture wars, Gates, 45, is an unflinching critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and a fierce opponent of attempts to privatize public education. The U.S. Department of Education said that CTUs lawsuit was nothing more than political posturing for a headline. [21], In May 2020, the Chicago Teachers Union was sued by a Chicago teacher who was being forced to pay CTU dues despite crossing the picket line during the 2019 strike and withdrawing from CTU membership. However, due to the Loeb Rule, the Chicago Board of Education fired dozens of participating teachers. Stacy Davis Gatesis the Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union and the Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Chicago Historical Society, Chicago Teachers Federation records 1864-1968. Lolly Voss, I heard you for the first time on 820am in Chicago, youre the voice that the children of Chicago NEED. As a rank-and-file member, she was active in the charter outreach committee, clinicians steering committee and the CTU Latino Caucus policy committee. She was actually in sixth grade, Gates later clarifies. The CTU represents more than 25,000 teachers, paraprofessional and school-related personnel, and school clinicians working in the Chicago Public Schools and, by extension, the students and families they serve. The Foundation supports education-related advocacy efforts aligned with the interests of the CTU. She made it OK to be powerful, curious, and vulnerable all at the same time.. She has very fine antennae and a finely honed sense of justice about whats right and fair, Sharkey says. Davis Gates is currently on leave from the classroom, where she taught high school social studies for over a decade at Englewood, Clemente, and Mason Community Links high schools. Chicago Teachers Union vice president Stacy Davis Gates talks about the looming vote to decide whether members will work remotely, in opposition to the schoo. Find out where to go, what to eat, where to live, and more. [41], The CTU Vice President is Stacy Davis Gates, who is also executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Chairwoman of the United Working Families political organization. [1] Chicago Teachers Union, About. She graduated from John Marshall High School and proudly serves on the schools alumni committee. As a speech-language pathologist, she served as an executive board elementary functional vice president and Big Bargaining Team member. ), My counsel to her is One thing at a time, Sharkey says. Shes also extremely sensitive. CTU also retained Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D) as a consultant, paying him $106,000, in addition to his own $85,000 county salary. Dont be compelled to turn around and walk backwards in the time of need. Its a high bar. The union made a push for affordable housing for students and teachers to be written into their contract, along with sanctuary protection for immigrantsunprecedented demands. Garcia lost. Im not going on your field trip because its not fair.. Neither side backs down from the fight. Including the mayor. She says there were fights every day on the corner of Western and Division. When you work on a team, when youre doing coalition work, its important for your team to understand the dynamics of gender and race because those things do impact the institution you lead as well. She also serves as a board member for the Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE), a nexus for organizations working at the intersection of the struggle for racial justice and Wall Street accountability. [17], In 2019, CTU launched an 11-day teacher strike, the eleventh since 1969. Chicago Teachers Union Foundation, Our History. Accessed June 01, 2020. Lewis feuded with Emanuel, dubbing him the murder mayor and Mayor 1 Percent. Emanuel, for his part, famously barked Fuck you, Lewis during a private meeting in 2011. Some notable people were looking on. Email Monica Trevino at Mtrevino@ift-aft.org. It does something to you., As Englewood High School was closing, the CTU was undergoing a radical transformation, led largely by Potter, away from a pay-and-benefits focus and toward a citizen activist approach. Jesse Sharkey, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, will step down at the end of his term this summer after two tumultuous decades of involvement in union leadership that saw the organization become a political powerhouse. A 2021 study by the University of Chicagos Inclusive Economy Lab found that one in seven CPS students experiences homelessness. Leone, Hannah, Chicago teacher who crossed the picket line during the strike is now suing the teachers union over dues payments, Chicago Tribune, May 07, 2020. And it was an early glimpse at the way some kids are placed on a path to succeed, while others are left behind. In fact, it irks her that theres an expectation that she and Lightfoot should get along because theyre both Black women. In addition to leading the political and legislative agendas for the CTU, Stacy is a regular contributor to radio shows and print publications. As a district supervisor for Midway Network 1, she worked with the CTUs organizing department, parents, teachers and community members in the fight to oppose the turnaround of Marquette Elementary School and against abusive and counterproductive network administrators. Preckwinkle lost to Lori Lightfoot (D). [2] In the 2010s and early 2020s, the CTU has aligned with the ideological radical left; in 2019,the union faced criticism after representatives including a union executive board member traveled to Venezuela in support of the de facto socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. [36], CTU has been an active opponent of education reforms or changes that could reduce the unions power within the education system. Stieber began his career at TEAM Englewood Academy, a public high school that, along with an Urban Prep Academies charter school, took over the building that once housed Englewood High School. Blair Paddock | May 24, 2022 8:47 pm. Chicago Teachers Union 1901 W. Carroll Ave. Chicago, IL 60612. She also serves as a board member for ACRE, The Action Center on Race & the Economy, a nexus for organizations working at the intersection of racial justice and Wall Street accountability.Ms. The UIC administration is offering raises of 17% over four years, averaging 4.25% per year, the union said. Evaluation of New District Teachers Without Tenure. Her maternal grandmother left Arkansas, worked on the West Side of Chicago, and wound her way to South Bend. She also serves as a board member for the Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE), a nexus for organizations working at the intersection of the struggle for racial justice and Wall Street accountability. Gates took the stage. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. But Sharkey and Davis Gates also have come under fire from a group of educators calling themselves the Members First Caucus, who planned to challenge them in the May election. Under her leadership, the unions political action fund and member activity in the political and legislative arena has grown significantly. Teacher Unionism, The Labor and Working Class History Association, May 23, 2014. What We Know and What We Need to Learn, Michigan State University. She attended Saint Marys College, the University of Notre Dame, and Concordia University. The challengers. There are lots of ways in which they dont really want to be there, Sharkey says. Prior to that, she served as the unions Political and Legislative Director. The air crackled with applause. For more than 75 years the Chicago Teachers Union has fought for the schools Chicagos students deserve. [4] The CTU Constitution also identifies solidarity with other labor unions (a relationship of mutual assistance and cooperation with organized labor) as a core purpose of the CTU. They were so fearless in their ability to dream of me in this moment. But she didnt play any games. She is also the Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and an Executive Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers. Lauren FitzPatrick and Nader Issa, Chicago Teachers Union Inc.: How the clout-heavy labor group spends its money, Chicago Sun-Times, January 17, 2020. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates speaks as the CTU and the local school council held a news conference on Sept. 28, 2021, outside Jensen Elementary School in North Lawndale. Joshua Cowen and Katharine O. Strunk, How Do Teachers Unions Influence Education Policy? We see our schools closed and defunded. Ms. Davis Gates has also spearheaded statewide legislative campaigns to pass the strongest charter school accountability measures in the country, push for the restoration of the bargaining rights of Chicago Public Schools employees, and fully fund public education by ending tax loopholes for the 1%. And theyre not paying attention to a Chicago where you have two Black women who have leadership and influence who think differently. [10], In 1917, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Loeb Rule was constitutional, and the CFT and Chicago Board of Education reached a settlement in which the fired teachers were rehired and CFT disaffiliated itself from other labor unions. Prior to working on staff at CTU, Sharkey was a social studies teacher and a political activist. Gateswho had stepped away from the classroom in 2011 to ramp up her union activities, traveling to Springfield to lobby for the CTUs legislative agenda and serving as the organizations political directorwas elected to fill his post. Where does Stacy Davis Gates Live? Your messaging is atrocious. Chicago Teachers Union, History. [35], In 2020, CTU members declined to endorse left-wing U.S. That was the moment I was radicalized.. Chicago Teachers Union, On the CTU Sale of Fewkes Tower, April 30, 2015. The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. And she's not about to let anyone. So we have to be astute historians and know that our voice is necessary to this moment. They led every meeting with school-based discussions of billionaires, banks and racism., The union started partnering with community organizations known largely for fighting gentrificationthe Pilsen Alliance, Logan Square Neighborhood Alliance, Kenwood-Oakland Community Organizationto attend school board meetings and host community forums on school closures. So I want you to stay encouraged, Chicago Teachers Union. But they had an air of choreography, she says, of an outcome predetermined before anyone even spoke. Accessed June 02, 2020. Then You Havent Been Paying Attention. chicagotribune.com. The couples son is named after his father. The Chicago Teachers Union was established to represent the interest of teachers at Chicago, Illinois schools. Copyright 2023 InfluenceWatch. It felt like people were still begging American institutions to see our humanity. In addition, CTU PAC donated $1.2 million to candidates and political organizations. (That didnt rattle Lewis, who years later told a crowd gathered at the Hideout for an event, I know bad words, too. I need you to be even more in love with equity and justice. Tara Stamps, a CTU administrator and daughter of the late community activist Marion Nzinga Stamps, was onstage introducing the Jammin for PEACE speakers and performers. Ms. Davis Gates lives on the South Side of Chicago with her husband and three children. Stacy Davis Gates is the President of the Chicago Teachers Union. Chicago Teachers Union, 2019-2020 Dues. Grandmother Hazel died a week before her namesake was born. Accessed June 01, 2020. She has raised millions of dollars to elect classroom teachers to all levels of local government, and challenge school privatizers and union busters. The problems are complex. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates was elected president of the union Friday following a months-long, hard-fought battle against two challengers to succeed outgoing. The impact of historical, generational disinvestment on the South Side and West Side of the city is difficult for people who are experiencing it to challenge, because its every day and it covers all facets of their existence. It felt like we were set up to take this fall because there were few investments, few supports, and timetables for achievement that they knew we couldnt meet. While at the CTU, Ms. Davis Gates has been the architect of bold political and legislative campaigns for the schools and city that all Chicagoans deserve. to promote racial, economic and social justice in order to achieve educational justice and build community and labor coalitions to achieve that objective. They would have you to believe that Black lives, queer lives dont matter in this country. CPS has had four CEOs in the past seven years, including twoBarbara Byrd-Bennett and Forrest Claypoolwho left in disgrace. Holocaust-denier gets nearly 40 percent of vote in 2 Mount Greenwood precincts. The hallways of Englewood High were lined with photos of notable alums: Harold Ickes, secretary of the interior under Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman; Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., the first African American to be selected as an astronaut; Harold Bradley Sr., who was one of just 13 African American players in the National Football League before World War II; Pulitzer Prizewinning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. When the group first challenged the unions current administration three years ago, Sharkey won reelection handily, with two-thirds of the vote. We, teachers, and other educational personnel in the Chicago Public Schools, being members of the Chicago Teachers Union, do hereby declare this Union to have the following purposes: to protect and improve the services of the public schools as a social agency for developing the capacities of the young and promoting adult education; to promote and guarantee efficient and faithful service from us to the public and to insure to us in return for that service a fair reward and a just security; in accordance with the Agreement between the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and Chicago Teachers Union, to assert, secure, and protect the inherent and fundamental equity in our jobs; as the sole collective bargaining agent for members of the bargaining unit, to establish and maintain orderly and practicable democratic processes in the management of the Chicago public schools, in accordance with the terms of the Agreement; to maintain a relationship of mutual assistance and cooperation with organized labor; to unify the educators of traditional public schools and public charter schools in the City of Chicago, together with other Chicago-area educators that may join with this Union. 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