Chicago Teachers Strike May Near End As Union Releases Deal

September 16th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Rahm Emanuel is giving away the farm.

A deal is on the table Saturday night to end a nearly weeklong Chicago teachers strike, though classes could still be canceled Monday as the union’s House of Delegates reviews the proposal.

If a press release from the Chicago Teachers Union is accurate, Emanuel has given away some of his most prized education reforms to the union to quell the strike. Mitt Romney has tried to paint the strike as a civil war among Democrats, and ending the strike now would quell the fervor before U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan — former CEO of Chicago’s schools — heads into midcountry organized labor territory on his bus tour Monday.

The deal features major concessions from Emanuel, who campaigned to become Chicago’s mayor with a promise to shake up the Windy City’s schools. The contract would count teachers’ students’ standardized test scores toward their evaluations for the minimum percentage allowed by law. The contract would last three years, not four — as of Thursday night, CTU was asking for two but willing to compromise on three, and CPS was not budging on the issue.

For the last week, Emanuel has stressed repeatedly that principals should have the right to choose the teachers they hire. “It’s essential that the local principal who we hold accountable for producing the educational results not be told by the CPS bureaucracy … and not be told by the union leadership who to hire,” Emanuel said last week.

But under the contract, that’s not how things would work. According to CTU, the agreed upon contract would require principals to choose from a pool composed of an equal ratio of new teachers and laid off teachers. According to a source close to the situation, the contract does not specify in which order they must be called back. There was no word from CPS early Sunday morning.

And even as CTU attorney Robert Bloch pledges an “ambitious” schedule to finalize the deal, CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey warns that “the devil’s in the details in contracts,” and the union seeks agreeable language in writing.

After Emanuel withdrew CTU’s 4 percent raise last summer, the contract will include a 3 percent raise in the first year followed by 2 percent in both the second and third years.

The House of Delegates is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Sunday to go over the agreement drafted by union negotiators, solicit input from educators and determine whether to end the first Chicago teachers strike in a quarter century. The panel could request at least 24 hours to come to a conclusion, according to a union statement.

“We are a democratic body and therefore we want to ensure all of our members have had the chance to weigh-in on what we were able to win,” CTU President Karen Lewis said in a statement Saturday. “We believe this is a good contract, however, no contract will solve all of the inequities in our District. Our fair contract fight has always been about returning dignity and respect to our members and ensuring resources and a quality school day for our students and their families.”

The negotiations were reportedly tough, but some speculate that CPS’s admission that it planned to close schools deemed to be “underutilized” — of which there are now 145, Catalyst Chicago found — forced the city’s hands in the meetings, giving CTU leverage to argue about the relevance of things like recall rights.

But even as the strike nears a deal, the district faces a dire financial state. The Chicago Tribune reports that net assets for Chicago Public Schools have taken a nosedive in the last decade, falling 200 percent from $1.2 billion to negative $1.2 billion.

The district’s acute budgetary climate points toward school closures, layoffs, property tax hikes and a more prominent reliance on charter schools — an oft-touted Emanuel reform measure to improve public education and a key issue in this week’s strike.

But even in this climate, CTU says CPS has promised to guarantee all students textbooks on the first day of classes, which apparently is not the norm in the district.

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Karen Lewis

Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago teachers union , left, and vice president Jesse Sharkey stand before a meeting of the union’s House of Delegates Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Karen Lewis

Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis arrives for a meeting of the union’s delegates Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, in Chicago. The city’s nearly weeklong teachers strike appeared headed toward a resolution Friday after negotiators emerged from marathon talks to say they had achieved a “framework” that could end the walkout in time for students to return to class Monday. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
David Vitale

Chicago Board of Education President David Vitale speaks to reporters following negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012 in Chicago. After a week of public school teachers striking over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations, Vitale said the district and teachers union have agreed on a
Public school teachers rally at Chicago’s Congress Plaza to protest against billionaire Hyatt Hotel mogul Penny Pritzker, who is also a member of the Chicago Board of Education on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Protesters said that $5.2 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds being used to build a new Hyatt hotel in Hyde Park would be better spent on meeting basic student needs. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
A large crowd of public school teachers rally at Chicago’s Congress Plaza to protest against billionaire Hyatt Hotel mogul Penny Pritzker, who is also a member of the Chicago Board of Education on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Protesters said that $5.2 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds being used to build a new Hyatt hotel in Hyde Park would be better spent on meeting basic student needs. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Striking Chicago public school teachers and their supporters march down Michigan Avenue on September 13, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off the job on September 10 after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Striking Chicago public school teachers and their supporters rally following a march down Michigan Avenue on September 13, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off the job on September 10 after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Striking Chicago public school teachers and their supporters march down Michigan Avenue on September 13, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off the job on September 10 after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Teachers picket outside the Chicago Public Schools headquarters on September 13, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off of their jobs on September 10 after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Striking Chicago public school teachers and their supporters march down Michigan Avenue on September 13, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off the job on September 10 after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Striking Chicago public school teachers and their supporters rally before a march down Michigan Avenue on September 13, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off the job on September 10 after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Thousands of public school teachers and their supporters rally outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel to protest against Penny Pritzker, whom they accuse of benefiting from being a board member of both the Chicago Board of Education and Hyatt Hotels on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Children in strollers join thousands of public school teachers rallying outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel, protesting against Penny Pritzker, whom they accuse of benefiting from her position on the boards of both the Chicago Board of Education and Hyatt Hotels on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Two-year-old identical twins Colton and Lucas Jordan join thousands of public school teachers and their supporters as they march along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, protesting against Penny Pritzker, whom they accuse of benefiting from her position on the boards of both the Chicago Board of Education and Hyatt Hotels on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Thousands of public school teachers and their supporters rally outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel to protest against Penny Pritzker, whom they accuse of benefiting from her position on the boards of both the Chicago Board of Education and Hyatt Hotels on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Teachers and their supporters rally in downtown Chicago on day four of the strike Thursday, Sept. 13.
Teachers and their supporters rally in downtown Chicago on day four of the strike Thursday, Sept. 13.
Teachers and their supporters rally in downtown Chicago on day four of the strike Thursday, Sept. 13.
Teachers and their supporters rally in downtown Chicago on day four of the strike Thursday, Sept. 13.
A large group of public school teachers marches past John Marshall Metropolitan High School on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in West Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
A large group of public school teachers rally at John Marshall Metropolitan High School on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in West Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
A family waves at a large group of public school teachers as they march on streets surrounding John Marshall Metropolitan High School on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in West Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Chicago public school student Natalia Segal joins the picket line outside of Marshall High School on September 12, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off of their jobs on Monday after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A large group of public school teachers marches past John Marshall Metropolitan High School on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in West Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
A young boy in a cart is pulled along by his mother at the tail of a group of public school teachers marching on streets surrounding John Marshall Metropolitan High School on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in West Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Thousands of public school teachers rally for the second consecutive day outside the Chicago Board of Education district headquarters on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 in Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Michelle Harris

Michelle Harris, a teacher from Kohn School, sports a colourful wig as she marches with thousands of public school teachers for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 in downtown Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Karen Lewis

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis is embraced by a teacher during an unexpected appearance at a rally of thousands of public school teachers outside the Chicago Board of Education district headquarters on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 in Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Karen Lewis

Public school teachers cheer as Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, unseen, arrives unexpectedly to address a rally of thousands of teachers gathered for the second consecutive day outside the Chicago Board of Education district headquarters on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 in Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Thousands of public school teachers march for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 in downtown Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 11: Chicago public school teachers and their supporters picket in front of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters on September 11, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off their jobs yesterday after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 11: Chicago public school teachers and their supporters picket in front of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters on September 11, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off their jobs yesterday after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 11: Chicago public school teachers and their supporters picket in front of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters on September 11, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff walked off their jobs yesterday after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Vincent Iturralde, right, principal at at Tarkington School of Excellence, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel listens as Mahalia Hines, a member of the Chicago Board of education and former Chicago public schools teacher and principal speaks during a news Tarkington in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012. Negotiations continue on the second day of a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district, as the two sides continue to struggle to reach an agreement in a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 11: Alvaro Ortega, a student advocate, pickets outside Lane Tech College Prep High School on September 11, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff hit the picket lines yesterday after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Chicago public school teachers walk a picket line outside Lane Tech High School on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, on the second day of a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district. Negotiations by the two sides failed to come to an agreement Monday in a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
Chicago public school teachers walk a picket line on an overpass on the Dan Ryan expressway near Shoop Elementary School in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, on the second day of a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district as negotiations by the two sides failed to reach an agreement Monday in a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Lenore Lopez, Morgan Mudron

Public school teachers Lenore Lopez, right, and Morgan Mudron, cheer as cars honk for a picket line outside Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, on the second day of a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district as negotiations by the two sides failed to reach an agreement Monday in a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Chicago public school teachers walk a picket line outside Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, on the second day of a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district as negotiations by the two sides failed to reach an agreement Monday in a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Michael Grant,

Michael Grant, a parent of a Chicago public school student, walks a picket line outside Shoop Elementary School in support of striking CPS teachers, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012. This is the second day of a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district as negotiations by the two sides failed to reach an agreement Monday in a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Chicago public school teachers take a group picture as they walk a picket line outside Shoop Elementary School in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, on the second day of a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district as negotiations by the two sides failed to reach an agreement Monday in a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Chicago Teachers Go On Strike For First Time In 25 Years

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 10: Thousands of Chicago public school teachers and their supporters march through the Loop and in front of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters on September 10, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff hit the picket lines this morning after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Chicago Teachers Go On Strike For First Time In 25 Years

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 10: Thousands of Chicago public school teachers and their supporters march through the Loop and in front of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters on September 10, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 26,000 teachers and support staff hit the picket lines this morning after the Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement with the city on compensation, benefits and job security. With about 350,000 students, the Chicago school district is the third largest in the United States. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Striking Chicago Public School teacher Lanessa Mendoza pickets with fellow teachers from Peck Elementary School as Mayor Rahm Emanuel was visiting with students taking part at the Safe Haven program at Maranatha Church in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. The church is providing students with structured activities and a safe environment during the teachers’ strike. Thousands of teachers walked off the job Monday in the nation’s third-largest school district for the first time in 25 years after union leaders announced they were far from resolving a contract dispute with school district officials. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel visits with students Jacquelina Mena, left, and Brenda Pena at Maranatha Church in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, where students were being provided structured activities in their community and safe environment during a teachers strike. Thousands of Chicago Public School teachers walked off the job Monday in the nation’s third-largest school district for the first time in 25 years after union leaders announced they were far from resolving a contract dispute with school district officials. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Chicago Teachers Strike

a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mvokral”img style=”float:left;padding-right:6px !important;” src=”http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif” //aa href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mvokral”mvokral/a:br /Outside CPS Headquarters
Chicago Teachers Strike

Snapshots from the teacher strike in Hyde Park.
Chicago Teachers Strike

Striking Chicago teachers sing an original song at Pierce Elementary in Andersonville.
Chicago Teachers Strike

Snapshots from the teacher strike in Hyde Park.
A public school teacher cradles his baby while picketing outside Amundsen High School with other teachers on the first day of a strike by the Chicago Teachers Union, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, in Chicago. The school is one of more than 140 schools in the Chicago Public Schools’ “Children First” contingency plan, which feeds and houses students for four hours during the strike. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
A woman pushes a stroller past a group of public school teachers picketing outside Amundsen High School, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, in Chicago. The school is one of more than 140 schools in the Chicago Public Schools’ “Children First” contingency plan, which feeds and houses students for four hours during the teachers strike started by the Chicago Teachers Union Monday. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)