As Chicago students continue their intense struggle in the classroom, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is making climate-related demands in contract negotiations, according to E&E News.
CTU will promote initiatives in the city such as electric school buses, green job training programs for students and reducing emissions from buildings through solar panels and other retrofits. according to These demands come even as 2023 testing data shows that about 75% of Chicago Public Schools students are not at grade level in reading and 83% of students are not at grade level proficiency in math, according to E&E News. according to to the Illinois Policy Institute.
According to E&E News, the union is also calling for the removal of all lead pipes in school buildings, the replacement of windows that don’t open, and the creation of a “climate champion” role in each school to organize climate-related initiatives and activities. The CTU is also proposing that school buildings be equipped with solar panels and heat pumps, as well as the creation of “heating and cooling centers” that could be used jointly during very hot or very cold temperatures. (Related: Blue City Teachers Union pulls students out of class to participate in voting event for cause they support)
Chicago mayor says teachers unions are acting like ‘political parties’ https://t.co/JPP8xND8tj
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According to E&E News, if the union’s climate change demands are granted in full, it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
CTU may be well positioned to win the lucrative contract because it offered the following terms: Millions According to E&E News, the city has donated significant funds to the mayoral campaign of Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is himself a former organizer with the union. The union has also called for keeping students out of schools and switching to online learning during the pandemic, which has left the Chicago school system with the worst chronic absenteeism rate of any of the nation’s largest school districts. according to to the Illinois Policy Institute.
“This demonstrates the Chicago Teachers Union’s accountability to the entire community,” CTU President Stacey Davis Gates told E&E News. “Our collective bargaining agreement and coalition work, especially in communities of color, will benefit everyone.”
Neither CTU nor Johnson’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.
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