Chicago teachers union unveils $50bn demands including lower standards, $95k salaries and letting schools enact 'trauma' closures: Hypocrite leader educates son privately

The Chicago Teachers Union's contract is set to expire in June which will soon prompt negotiations between educators and the school board.

Union President Stacy Davis Gates said in early March that her proposed contract for 2024 to 2028 'will cost $50 billion and 3 cents.'

'And so what?' Davis Gates added. 'That’s audacity. That’s Chicago.'

The teachers union is demanding nine percent cost of living adjustments every year. 

According to Indeed, the average salary of a teacher in Chicago Public Schools is $67,718. With raises every year for four years, teachers would be getting paid about $95,000 a year by 2028, which is roughly 36 percent higher than the national average.

The $50 billion demand comes despite the fact that Chicago Public Schools spends more than $21,000 per student, far above the national average of $14,347, per the Census Bureau.

And even with the extra $7,000 that Chicago lavishes on its students, the cost doesn't appear to lead to better academic results. 

Only 21 percent of eighth grade students in Chicago's public schools were proficient at reading as measured by the Nation's Report Card, which has been cataloguing students' academic performance across all subjects since 1969.

That's perhaps partly why Davis Gates has been sending her son to a prestigious private Catholic school, NBC reported in September 2023.

While the 142-page contract written by the teachers union does address ways to increase the proficiency of its students in certain sections, there are also many requests that have more to do with addressing perceived social ills in the community.

For instance, the teachers union wants taxpayer funds allocated to converting unused school facilities into housing for migrants, which they dub 'families seeking asylum.' Not only that, but they believe each migrant student should be given $2,000 for help with academics, transportation and mental health counseling.

The union also demands that each of the 646 public schools must have a 'newcomer liaison' for new students as well as migrant students. 

And for late-arriving migrants who aren't likely to graduate high school before the age of 19, the union wants to the school board to collaborate with the City Colleges of Chicago to 'create pathways' for them to succeed. 

The contract also has many sections that cater to sex and gender issues faced by staff and students.

The union is adamant that all counselors, clinicians, social workers and psychologists are 'queer competent' and 'trained annually on LGBTQ+ issues as a qualification of their job description.'

The union also wants to mandate that every school in the district have at least one gender-neutral bathroom.

The contract further stipulates that no faculty member should be allowed to reveal a student's gender identity to their parents if they don't know about it.

And when it comes to gender-affirming healthcare for staff and their dependents, the union wants that covered. Abortion is also among the healthcare needs that the union wants 100 percent covered by the school board.

Separate from gender and healthcare demands, the union also wants the district to allocate $5 million per year to fund costs associated with workload reduction for certain staff. 

For parents and students afraid of returning to virtual learning, there is carveout that would allow for the entire district to be plunged back into Zoom classes.

After any 'traumatic event' that happens at a school - which is not defined - the superintendent will be required to meet with the head of the teachers union to discuss closing the school for some time.

'No school will reopen until all necessary supports, both physical and emotional, are in place,' according to the contract.

The events will also prevent teachers from getting evaluated on their performance for a whole calendar year. 

It's not clear whether all or even most of these requirements being issued by the teachers union will end up in the final contract. The current contract, in place for the last four years, expires in June.