GEO Local 6300 sends our congratulations to the Chicago Teachers Union on their tentative contract agreement! Faced with a contract that would have devastated public education in Chicago, Chicago’s public school teachers walked out of the classroom and onto the picket lines. The House of Delegates has voted to adopt a tentative agreement, and CTU members will now vote on whether to ratify the contract.
The tentative agreement is a resounding victory for education justice in Chicago’s public schools.
The Chicago Teachers Union strike means that more students in more neighborhoods have better access to the education they need.
Because of the strike, working class and poor students in Chicago’s public schools will see: more expert health and other support staff, textbooks available to all students on the first day of classes, fewer great teachers pushed out of public education because of racist and classist standardized testing policies, and fair compensation for the teachers that work hard each and every day for their students.
Check out the full list of contract gains in the tentative agreement here–in this easy to read side by side comparison. And, here are English and Spanish language versions of a flyer explaining what the strike has meant for Chicago’s students.
The GEO knows what a feat it is for teachers to successfully withhold their labor in defense of fundamental necessities for just and accessible public education–necessities like basic support for neighborhood schools; and tuition waivers for graduate employees working in public universities.
We join the Chicago Teachers Union in declaring:
Until We Win! Fair Contract Now!
Members of GEO Local 6300 at a Chicago Teachers Union solidarity rally
