In these times, public school teachers and members of the Chicago Teachers Union have had to ask themselves a number of hard questions: What is the role of politics in education? How much political involvement is necessary to safeguard student education?
Last week, CTU members were asked to approve an amendment that would have changed the way union dues are structured. Essentially, it would have raised dues on much of the CTU’s membership, and those dues would have been used to fund upcoming political campaigns. An overwhelming majority of union members voted no, opposing the increase in dues that would have been for political purposes. The vote delivered a resounding message from rank-and-file CTU members to the union president and other officials to press the brakes on excessive political activity that uses members’ pay to bankroll political campaigns.
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It was also a call from teachers and school staff that asked union leadership for empathy during difficult times. Families all over Chicago, including CTU member households, are struggling to pay expenses during record high inflation and increases in the cost of living. Rising prices make it hard to absorb any additional reduction in income.
Also, during consideration of the CTU proposal, CTU members asked: Where are my union dues going and how will they be spent? Finding out that additional dues would be spent on the upcoming Chicago Board of Education election campaigns and mayoral race inspired clear opposition.
Last week, CTU members were also asked to vote on a measure that would have limited their ability to sue the union, such as using their dues for purposes without their consent. Legal action by members against the union is a last resort, which safeguards the rights of rank-and-file members. This proposed limit to legal rights also indicates how much politics have become part of the CTU’s leadership agenda.
There are those who believe that there is too much power at stake in the Board of Education elections and the mayor’s reelection bid and that the CTU needs to fund candidates with the same political vision.
With elections for a fully elected school board taking place in November, there is optimism that voters will put the right people in charge of Chicago public education. Yet to the CTU’s leaders, nothing can be left to chance and allowing democracy to play out does not guarantee the right school leadership. In their view, Chicago voters should have the power to elect representatives who will serve the city’s education needs — but under the proper conditions, and those conditions are best structured with the guidance of CTU leadership and political allies.
The reason the CTU championed an elected school board was so Chicagoans would have the power of choice. But the message the CTU has delivered is that voters on their own can’t be trusted.
CTU members should advocate and volunteer their time or money for the political candidates of their choice, but it should not be a requirement for members to foot the bill for political campaigns. Not only do all members not share the same political views, but also, teachers should focus on education. And the union should focus primarily on items affecting the classroom, member contract protection and fair school working conditions. The voters of Chicago, whether union or nonunion, should be trusted to collectively decide what the political future of our city will be.
The CTU is composed of educators who love to teach, and that should continue to be the union’s main objective. While it is possible to both serve an educational and political mission, CTU members sent a clear message to union leadership: Future funding of political activity should have stipulations and limits, and union dues are not a blank check or a piggy bank for political elections.
Froylan Jimenez is a Chicago Public Schools civics teacher and a Chicago Teachers Union member.
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