Chicago Teachers Union members overwhelmingly ratify new contract with CPS

CHICAGO - The Chicago Teachers Union overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract with Chicago Public Schools last week with 97% of voters supporting the deal, the union announced on Monday.

About 85% of the nearly 30,000 members of the CTU voted on the latest proposal last week and the votes were tallied over the weekend. Every member had a chance to vote on the contract.

The contract still requires final approval from the Chicago Board of Education.

‘A major leap forward’

What we know:

The contract will be in effect through the 2028-29 school year after approval from all levels.

The contract took almost a year to negotiate and was won without a strike vote, the union pointed out.

The CTU said the contract includes funding for 90 new librarians, 215 additional case managers, 400 more teachers assistants, and 68 new centralized technology coordinator positions.

In an announcement, the CTU said the new deal "will represent a major leap forward in the transformation of a district that is still recovering from the gutting and financial irresponsibility" of former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former CPS CEOs Arne Duncan and Paul Vallas.

The union also called out sitting district CEO Pedro Martinez saying he was an obstruction to the process.

Details on new deal

Dig deeper:

The four-year contract includes an overall pay raise of at least 16% for all teachers, with annual increases between 4% and 8.5%, plus step increases based on a teacher's years of service.

The starting salary for new teachers will increase to nearly $69,000, while the median CPS teacher will earn more than $98,000 by fiscal year 2026.

Other key provisions include:

• Class size limits: Kindergarten capped at 25 students, grades 1-3 at 28 students, grades 4-8 at 30 students, and high school classes between 29-31 students. CPS will increase funding for additional teachers and aides to help manage larger classes.
• Teacher prep time: Elementary school teachers will receive 10 additional minutes of daily planning time, bringing the total to 350 minutes per week. Additional professional development days will be restructured to provide more teacher-directed prep time.
• Expanded benefits: CPS will provide 100% tuition reimbursement for up to 300 teachers seeking bilingual or English as a Second Language endorsements. The district will also expand medical and dental benefits for employees making under $90,000, increase coverage for therapies, and guarantee access to abortion coverage, infertility treatments, and gender-affirming care.
• Student and school resources: The district will triple funding for athletics, add teacher assistants to all general education pre-K classrooms, increase funding for fine arts education, and expand the number of "sustainable community schools" from 20 to 70.