....their success is just about a contract. I think it’s about a culture. A culture of courage. A culture of clarity. A union that sees every struggle inside the school building as connected to the fight outside it. A union that organizes relentlessly—and wins publicly.
Also, Amy was interviewed this week.
Listen: Amy Arundell Makes Her Case to Lead the UFT LATEST STUCK NATION RADIO MAR 31
Work-Bites: https://www.work-bites.com/view-all/a7nwt235ykmjme5355xchk7tezmw8x
A Tale of Two Cities, Part 1: Chicago Fights and Wins — What NYC Can Learn
This is the first in a two-part series from A Better Contract (ABC) comparing what’s possible when unions fight—and what happens when they don’t. In Part 1, Amy Arundell, longtime educator and presidential candidate on the ABC slate, reflects on the Chicago Teachers Union’s tentative agreement and the culture of organizing that made it possible.
I wasn’t planning to write today. But after reading through the Chicago Teachers Union’s tentative agreement, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something important had just happened—and that we needed to talk about it.
The 2025 CTU contract locks in substantial pay raises, guarantees more prep time, and expands community support for students—showing just how powerful collective action can be. If you’re ready to see how these educators turned “impossible” into a done deal, you’ve got to check it out. Click here for all the details: https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/ctu-announces-historic-tentative-agreement-major-leap-forward-toward-transforming-chicago-public-schools/.
What the Chicago Teachers Union just accomplished—it wasn’t magic. It wasn’t luck. It was movement. It was members, organizing each other, mobilizing consistently, and building power over time. It was setting clear priorities, building public pressure, and refusing to be told “no.” They didn’t wait for politicians to save them. They did it themselves—and they did it together.
I want to be really clear about something. I don’t think their success is just about a contract. I think it’s about a culture. A culture of courage. A culture of clarity. A union that sees every struggle inside the school building as connected to the fight outside it. A union that organizes relentlessly—and wins publicly.
And let me tell you what struck me most: it wasn’t just the raises. It wasn’t just the prep time. It was the way CTU connected everything they do to uplifting workers and the communities they serve. They didn’t organize for scraps. They organized for dignity.
Now, back here in New York, Unity tells us: this can’t be done. They say don’t expect too much. Be realistic. Accept what you’re given. And every time they say that, I ask: do they think we haven’t seen what our brothers and sisters in Chicago just achieved? Do they think we didn’t notice?
Because we noticed. And we are not accepting the scraps.
When we started this campaign, there were maybe 20 of us sitting around folding chairs, talking about the same things I’m talking about with you now. But we were armed with a faith in member power. And we are armed with a belief in transparency. And most of all—we believed in each other.
We are now on the verge of winning. And if we keep moving together, we will—and we will be a union again. A union that listens. A union that leads. A union where truth replaces talking points and backroom deals are replaced by bold demands.
CTU didn’t wait to be rescued. They got organized. They built up. They broke through.
And we can too.
Let’s stop settling. Let’s start organizing with urgency and demanding with discipline.
Together, we will drive our future.
When we fight, we win.
Dear CTU Family,
Tentative Agreement: Week in review
After nearly a year of negotiations — including first-ever public bargaining sessions and members of our union’s largest and most representative Big Bargaining Team spending hundreds of hours at the table fighting for proposals that will protect students and educators and make new investments in our schools — we have a Tentative Agreement.
Despite the efforts of right wing actors like Paul Vallas, The Liberty Justice Center, and Illinois Policy Institute, and the MAGA forces that seek to deny the investments Chicago’s students deserve, this tentative agreement builds upon the past several contracts won by CTU in 2012, 2016, and 2019. It charts a new direction of investment, expansion of sustainable community and dual language schools, increased staffing, and a focus on reparatory equity to provide the educational experience Chicago students deserve no matter what neighborhood they live in. If approved by rank-and-file CTU members, the agreement will be the next step in the process of transforming Chicago Public Schools, a process begun under Karen Lewis in 2010.
On Monday, our Big Bargaining Team and Executive Board approved a final package of proposals and sent a Tentative Agreement to CTU’s highest governing body, our 700+-member House of Delegates. On Wednesday, the HoD voted overwhelmingly to send the Tentative Agreement to the full membership for a ratification vote and set the date for the vote to be Thursday, April 10 and Friday, April 11. Watch the post-HoD press conference here.
On Friday and Saturday, we held the first two all-member information sessions to answer questions about the TA, with hundreds of members in attendance. We have eight more information sessions (virtual and in-person) scheduled for Monday through Wednesday, ahead of the ratification vote.
This week: Ratification vote, union meetings, and info sessions
Ratification Vote: Thursday, April 10 and Friday, April 11
The ratification vote will be held in person at schools and select locations for citywide members on April 10 and April 11. All members, including clinicians and other citywide educators, will be able to vote at any voting site, including the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters. CTU members, you will receive more information about how and where to vote from your union delegate. If your school does not have a delegate, or your delegate is on leave, you are encouraged to reach out to your organizer or field representative, who will ensure that voting takes place at your school.
Union meetings and info sessions
Between now and next Thursday, we encourage all members to attend the union meeting organized by their delegate and participate in one or more of the virtual or in-person information sessions listed below. If you need help getting a union meeting organized at your school, please reach out to your organizer or field representative.
There are eight more information sessions, both comprehensive and geared to specific topics, scheduled in the coming days. Click the links below to register for any of these information sessions.
Monday, April 7:
All-Member In-person Info Session at CTU, 5 p.m.
Special Education Virtual Info Session, 5 p.m.
PSRP Virtual Info Session, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8:
All-Member In-person Info Session at Hyde Park High School, 5 p.m.
Bilingual Virtual Info Session, 5 p.m.
Clinicians + Itinerants Virtual Info Session, 5:30 p.m.
Accreted Members Info Session, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9: All-member Virtual Info Session, 6 p.m.
Materials to review with your coworkers
We encourage you to review the TA materials that are available in the MemberLink Portal and also on the CTU website. In the MemberLink Portal, you can find the full text comparing the previous contract’s language with the language of the TA. In both locations, you can find a document highlighting and summarizing key changes won in bargaining, as well as 20 fact sheets focusing on areas specific to job categories and major areas of negotiation such as REACH, bilingual education, early childhood education and more.
What’s in this Tentative Agreement for students, educators and Chicago?
2 comments:
I'd still like to hear Amy say why she stayed on for so long in Unity while pushing shitty contracts and supporting the Medicare Advantage plan. Was if for the double salary/cushy UFT office job? She says she is a changed person, but many of us remember all of the nonsense she has pulled in regard to UFT policies. Yes, she is a great unionist and has helped countless people, but that is just the half of it. If she wants our solid votes, she really should come clean on her decades long tenure with Unity.
I actually think she has come clean -- certainly enough to convince the over 550 people running with her on the ABC slate. She was part of the team for Unity and even if she had doubts she had to go along. Here's the thing -- I was a critic for her backing Unity policy --- but Amy as an employee of the union was considered the go to person and as you admit was there for people. She was a good shill for Unity when she was in the cult. Now she will be a good voice for the rest of us. Here's the thing: is she the best candidate to run the union at this point in time even with the doubts? Would you place a bet on her opponents to do a better job?
Post a Comment