Chicago teachers' $50B demands include pay hikes, abortions, migrant accommodation
The demands include members getting 9% annual wage increases through fiscal year 2028
By Michael Dorgan Fox News
Published May 5, 2024 8:09am EDT | Updated May 5, 2024 8:11am EDT
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is negotiating a new contract with the public schools system and is understood to be calling for an extra $50 billion to pay for wage hikes as well as other demands such as fully paid abortions for its members, new migrant services and facilities and a host of LGBT-related requirements and training in schools.
To put the figure into context, the total base tax receipts for the state of Illinois last year were $50.7 billion.
The incredible demands are being made despite its members delivering underwhelming results for its students, with only 21 percent of the city’s eighth graders being proficient readers, according to the last Nation’s Report Card, which provides national results about students' performance.
The union’s demands have not been made public but a leaked document sheds light on the eye-popping demands.
Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ audacious plan calls for members to bank at least 9% wage increases each year through fiscal year 2028.
The average salary of a teacher in Chicago Public Schools is $93,182, according to research by the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative nonprofit think tank. Therefore, the average teacher’s pay will increase by half to $144,620 in the 2027-2028 school year, it says.
That figure would equate to more than double the median household income in Chicago, according to Census Bureau statistics.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the CPS budget will exceed $9 billion this year, up nearly 30% from $7.4 billion just five years ago. Much of that increase is reflected in teacher salaries, which are among the highest of any big-city teachers in the country, the
Last school year, the district spent more than $21,000 per student, far above the national average of $14,347, according to census data.
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https://www.foxnews.com/us/chicago-teachers-50b-demands-includes-pay-hikes-abortions-migrant-accommodation
