On Oct. 19, the 750 full-time teachers of the seven Chicago Community Colleges went on strike to protest the lack of progress with their collective bargaining agreement. The union (CCCTU)also represents tutoring and daycare staff, computer lab technicians, instructors, and nurses. Secretaries and part-time adjunct teachers belong to a different union and they are bound by their contract not to miss work to support or participate in the strike.
The teachers’ last contract expired over the summer and the union has been trying to negotiate the renewal since April. The school administration is insisting that salaries are the sole issue and they are dismissing the link between pay and workload. The union has repeatedly stated that all aspects of the contract need to be examined for a comprehensive agreement to be reached.
Under the current offer, newly hired teachers would have to teach 15 hours per semester for wages that would vary according to qualifications and years of experience. School officials publicly talk of an average salary and compensation package of over $91,000. However in an Oct. 20 letter to striking CCCTU members, their own numbers put the average salary of those currently on the 15/15 plan at $47,749. A Humanities teacher with a PhD who has been working at Truman College in Uptown for eight years, and whose classes are routinely filled to capacity (35 or 39 students), said that her earnings have just recently passed the 50K mark.
Students are being told by school officials that classes are carrying on and attendance is being checked. Meanwhile at Truman last week, picketing teachers were joined by a number of students who reported that many classrooms remained empty. Michael Maltenfort, an openly gay mathematics teacher, said, ‘It’s been tremendous the support we’ve been getting. … I would say over the last couple of days about 150 students have joined us on the picket line.’ Two other openly gay teachers from the Communication Arts & Skills department were also encouraged by the response. Lara Ravitch mentioned that some students even started a petition to express their solidarity. Franklin Reynolds affirmed, ‘This strike is working in shutting down the school.’ Asked what they wished to accomplish with the strike action, Ravitch simply answered, ‘We hope to get a fair contract as soon as possible.’ Maltenfort then added, ‘One that represents all facets of our union.’
Although the topic has not been officially discussed, it is worth noting that the non-discrimination policy, as outlined in the 2000-’04 contract, covered race, color, creed, national origin, sex, and marital status. It would seem that ‘sex’ is to be understood as ‘gender’ and there was no mention of age or sexual orientation.
The section on benefits has a provision for medical insurance and CCC tuition to be extended to dependents of employees. But the contract does not define ‘dependent.’ One has to look to the Districtwide Employee Manual for precision on who qualifies. The Dependent Documentation Requirements list ‘spouse’ and ‘children’ and, in the case of the former, a certified marriage license has to be produced for coverage to granted.
The next negotiating round is set for Oct. 27.