The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is the teachers’ union for 25,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, and other public school employees in the Chicago, Illinois public school system, the third-largest school system in the United States. The CTU represents its members through collective bargaining for compensation, benefits, employee work conditions, and school governance. ¹

Founded in 1937, CTU is well known for its aggressive political engagement such as strikes, marches, and protests in favor of left-of-center educational priorities and approaches to racial equality. ² In the 2010s and early 2020s, the CTU has aligned with the ideological radical left; in 2019,the union faced criticism after representatives including a union executive board member traveled to Venezuela in support of the de facto socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. ³

CTU is Local 1 of the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest national teachers’ union. ⁴

Mission

The Chicago Teachers Union was established to represent the interest of teachers in Chicago, Illinois public schools. The CTU represents Chicago area teachers in regular collective bargaining contract agreements. The CTU Constitution also identifies solidarity with other labor unions (“a relationship of mutual assistance and cooperation with organized labor”) as a core purpose of the CTU. ⁵

In the 2019 negotiation with Chicago, the CTU’s key negotiating goals were the duration of the contract, increased support staff (including elimination of privatized nurses), reduced class sizes, increased compensation and benefits, and job security protections, including limiting some teacher evaluations and Principal authority over grading practices. ⁶

The Chicago Teachers Union’s annual standard dues for fiscal year 2025 are $1,410.98 for each full-time teacher ⁷

History

The Chicago Teacher Federation (CTF), a predecessor to the Chicago Teachers Union, was formed in 1897, largely to improve the status and compensation of teachers. Under famous union leader Margaret Haley (known as the “Lady Labor Slugger”), the CTF recognized that it needed to persuade political officials to achieve these goals. The Chicago Teacher Federation threw itself into political advocacy, organizing behind candidates who were favorable to their goals. This effort resulted in both support and opposition. In 1915, the newly elected Mayor of Chicago, William Thompson, appointed a school board that was largely hostile to the interests of the Chicago Teacher Federation. Under Board President Jacob Loeb, the Chicago Board of Education passed a rule (“The Loeb Rule”) prohibiting teachers from joining any labor union or similar organization. The Federation challenged this rule in court, with mixed results. ⁸

In 1916, the Chicago Teacher Federation founded the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and became the Local 1. However, due to the Loeb Rule, the Chicago Board of Education fired dozens of participating teachers. The Chicago Teachers Federation was forced to leave the American Federation of Teachers. ⁹ It would not rejoin the AFT until 1937, when the Chicago Teacher Federation and various other Chicago teacher organizations consolidated to create the Chicago Teachers Union, which once again joined the American Federation of Teachers as Local 1. ¹⁰

In 1917, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Loeb Rule was constitutional, and the CFT and Chicago Board of Education reached a settlement in which the fired teachers were rehired and CFT disaffiliated itself from other labor unions. This outcome led the CFT to prioritize collective bargaining rights as a primary goal. ¹¹ However, teachers unions would not accomplish this goal in the United States until a New York City teachers union reached a collective bargaining agreement after extensive teacher strikes in 1962. ¹² The CTU won recognition as the collective bargaining agent for its members in 1966, and reached its first collective bargaining contract in 1967. ¹³

After the Chicago Teachers Union achieved the power to collectively bargain, CTU teachers went on strike nine times in twenty years, with four strikes in the first seven years. ¹⁴ After a strike in 1987, there was a period of relative peace, with no teacher strikes until 2012.

However, in 2012, after 9 months of contentious negotiations between CTU, the Chicago School Board, and then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), who had been actively closing or privatizing failing schools, the CTU went on strike again. ¹⁵ The 2012 strike also proved difficult for President Barack Obama during that year’s presidential campaign; it pitted labor unions, whose support he needed, against Emanuel, Obama’s former White House Chief of Staff and a top fundraiser. While interest groups on all sides sought Obama’s involvement in the negotiation, President Obama’s spokesman said that Obama “has not expressed any opinion or made any assessment about this particular incident.” ¹⁶

In 2018, CTU supported the first major strike by charter school teachers in US history. ¹⁷

In 2019, CTU launched an 11-day teacher strike, the eleventh since 1969. The results were mixed for CTU. While Chicago officials did not give them everything they demanded, the city did agree to a 16% raise over five years, smaller class sizes and more support staff, including social workers, nurses, librarians, and others. While a victory for the teachers’ union, the concessions came at a significant cost – estimated at about $500 million – to Chicago’s already-shaky financial condition. In 2020, the city was running an $838 million budget deficit, and Chicago’s school system bonds have been rated below investment-grade in recent years. ¹⁸

In addition to member-oriented benefits, the CTU also expanded its list of demands during the 2019 teacher strike to include a broader political goal: access to affordable housing. Illinois law limits what unions can include as part of a contract negotiation. However, a growing movement of labor organizations has begun aggressively campaigning for radical-left economic policy under the branding “bargaining for the common good,” including intersectional policy efforts in labor negotiations. ¹⁹ Ultimately, when the 11-day strike ended, the city of Chicago declined to incorporate housing policy into the contract with CTU. ²⁰

In 2020, the Chicago Teachers Union filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, as well as the U.S. Department of Education and the Chicago Board of Education, claiming that new special education regulations imposed an “impossible burden” on the teachers during the coronavirus pandemic. Secretary DeVos had declined to waive a requirement that schools revise special education plans — known as Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 plans – and the Chicago Public Schools special education office required teachers and other staff to meet with each special education student to develop a remote learning plan. CTU argued that this was an undue burden. In response, the Chicago Public Schools said that teachers were only required to make “basic accommodations” rather than entirely new plans. The U.S. Department of Education said that CTU’s lawsuit was “nothing more than political posturing for a headline.” ²¹

In May 2020, the Chicago Teachers Union was sued by a Chicago teacher who was being forced to pay CTU dues despite crossing the picket line during the 2019 strike and withdrawing from CTU membership. The teacher alleged that she was being forced to subsidize CTU’s speech, and this was a violation of her own first amendment rights. In response, CTU blamed a “Koch-funded law project,” called the lawsuit “anti-worker,” and argued that, by only allowing members to revoke their dues authorizations in August, they were operating “within the letter of the law.” ²²

In January 2022, a strike led by CTU and a approved vote forced the Chicago Public School (CPU) to suspend all in-person teaching and classes within schools, leading to only online learning options. The efforts, that saw support from groups including the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), were in response to fear of the omicron variant of Covid-19 and attempting to decrease the number of cases. In a series of tweets, the CTU announced that the strike would end, “if the surge in COVID-19 cases “substantially subsides” or the mayor’s team at CPS signs an agreement establishing conditions for return that are voted on and approved by the CTU House of Delegates.” ^{23 24} After roughly a week, on January 11, the CTU’s governing body voted to suspend the strike by negotiating with the CPU to resume in-person classes with compromises including increased testing at schools, vaccination of students, and agreements of shutting down any school buildings should infection rates reach a certain threshold. CTU president Jesse Sharkey criticized the results, criticizing the CPU for showing, ““callous disregard” for school safety.” ²⁵ Then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot commented on the strike and subsequent deal by stating, “Some will ask who won and who lost…No one wins when our students are out of the place where they can learn the best and where they’re safest.” ²⁵ In May 2023, during a CNN interview in May 2023, Lightfoot further criticized the CTU and the 2022 strike by claiming, “the union needed to work with us and they never did that.” ²⁶

Affiliated Organizations

In addition to its status as Local 1 of the American Federation of Teachers, CTU is also a member of other left-wing labor groups, including the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL), the Illinois State Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (ISFL-CIO), the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). ²⁷

The Chicago Teachers Union also operates a philanthropic organization, the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation (CTUF). The Foundation supports education-related advocacy efforts aligned with the interests of the CTU. The CTUF also funds some professional development programs for teachers and scholarships for underserved communities. ²⁸

The Foundation was founded in 1969 when it received the Fewkes Tower – a 29-story high rise building in Chicago – from the Chicago Teachers Union, which had built the tower in 1963 to provide affordable housing to retired teachers. While the purpose of the Foundation was to support retired and disabled teachers, very few teachers ever lived at Fewkes Tower, and “only seven of the 224 apartments in Fewkes Tower were occupied by retired CPS teachers” when the building was sold by CTUF in 2014. ²⁹ Upon the sale of the tower, the CTUF refocused its mission towards teacher advocacy and grantmaking to underserved communities. ³⁰

In 2018, despite the infusion of $48 million from the sale of the building just a few years prior, the CTUF cut back, reducing its grants from $1.9 million to 50 grantees in 2017 to $1 million to 37 grantees in 2018.  The CTUF has lost $2 million per year since the sale of the Fewkes Tower. ³¹

In 2019, CTUF grantees included a mix of progressive activist organizations and community charity organizations like the Action Now Institute, Equip for Equality, Grassroots Collaborative, Rainbows for All Children, and the UIC Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy. ³²

The Chicago Teachers Union also operates the CTU PAC, a campaign committee that supports candidates who fight against school reform. ^{33 34} In 2015, donations to the CTU PAC amounted to over $1.5 million, and the CTU PAC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia (D), who unsuccessfully ran against then-incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D). Garcia lost. ³⁵

Political Engagement

Political Activities

Between March 2018 and July 2019, just prior to the 2019 teachers strike, the Chicago Teachers Union spent almost $1.5 million on political activities. In addition, CTU PAC donated $1.2 million to candidates and political organizations. ³⁶

CTU has been an active opponent of education reforms or changes that could reduce the union’s power within the education system. Despite Chicago Public School enrollment dropping by over 6,000 students in 2019, and by 80,000 students since 2000, the Chicago Teachers Union has refused to allow schools, even failing schools, to close. ³⁷ In 2012, contract negotiations stalled over Mayor Emanuel’s proposal to use student test scores in teacher evaluations, as well as his effort to give principals more hiring authority. ³⁸

CTU Endorsements

In 2017-2019, the CTU PAC donated $133,000 to the campaign of then-Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson (D), who was also on staff with the Chicago Teachers Union as a registered lobbyist. Johnson was paid a $103,000 salary by CTU, in addition to his $85,000 salary as a Cook County Commissioner.  CTU also retained Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D) as a consultant, paying him $106,000, in addition to his own $85,000 county salary. ³⁵

In the 2024 election cycle, CTU spent $1.74 million supporting the candidacies of ten individuals for the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education. Four of these candidates were elected, one of whom faced no opposition. According to the right-of-center Illinois Policy Institute, CTU’s candidates underperformed compared to similar candidates in other states with union support, and the underperformance was blamed on a lack of support for CTU-backed Mayor Johnson. ³⁹

Brandon Johonson

Early Career

Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson (D) was a member of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), which has maintained a close relationship with Johnson throughout his political career.⁴⁰

Johnson became a union organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union in 2011 following his tenure as a professor at several schools in the Chicago area. In 2012, he led local efforts in the CTU strike against then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), which included protesting the closure of 50 schools in low-income city districts and leading a hunger strike to stop the closure of a high school being turned into an arts academy. ^{40 41}

2023 Chicago Mayoral Campaign

By March 2023, Cook County Commissioner and CTU organizer Brandon Johnson was running against former Chicago State University Chief Administration Officer Paul Vallas in a general runoff election for Mayor of Chicago. ^{42 43} Although the CTU claimed that Johnson had been on leave since November 2022, he had still received criticism over his ties to the union whilst running for Mayor, with U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL) commenting, “Will Brandon, if he’s elected mayor, be able to say that he is impartial…That, in negotiations with the union, that he’ll make the best decision for children and taxpayers as issues in education, in the Chicago public school system as other bargaining units come to the table to negotiate?” ^{44 45} Johnson had reportedly received financial support from several other teachers unions as well as SEIU Local 73 and SEIU Healthcare. ⁴⁴ According to documents filed by the CTU to the U.S Department of Labor, since 2018, Johnson has received over $390,000 as a “legislative coordinator” for the union around the same time he received a salary as Cook County Board Commissioner. ⁴⁶ In April 2023, Johnson won the mayoral runoff race against Vallas, winning 51.42% of the vote versus Vallas’ 48.58% or by roughly a margin of 15,872 votes. ⁴⁷

According to reporting by Politico and the Illinois Policy Institute, the CTU’s representatives voted in favor of taking $8 a month from each CTU member’s dues and pushing it towards funding Johnson’s campaign, a tripling of previous donations from the union, and pledging up to $2 million to Johnson’s campaign between March and June 2023. Between January 1, 2022 through March 6, 2023, the CTU has donated roughly $3.2 million to Johnson’s campaign. ⁴⁶ The vote by the Union’s representatives was met with criticism by some CTU members, claiming that such support was possibly in violation of union rules regarding political donations. The CTU handbook states that, “dues are not used for political purposes,” ⁴⁶ but instead the CTU’s PAC, “relies on extra contributions from our members to support progressive candidates and to impact elected officials at the city, county and state levels.” ⁴⁶ Some CTU members also criticized the vote’s lack of transparency due to all members not getting a change to vote, with Union leadership defending the quick vote as being necessary, “to secure the funding before the runoff on April 4.” ⁴⁶

In addition, campaign finance records show that in February 2023, over $415,000 was transferred from the CTU’s operating funds towards its Political Action Committee (PAC) without a vote of approval from the union’s House of Delegates. ^{46 48} CTU delegate Mary Esposito Usterbowski commented, “Members weren’t notified; many of us were notified by going onto the website and finding out this money was donated, and it wasn’t done in a transparent way.” ⁴⁸ According to Illinois state law, a labor organization can only transfer up to $274,000 towards a PAC at a time nor can it loan money. Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich, who sent a letter to the CTU, commented, “It would have to be a loan from a financial institution…In this case, it is a loan from a labor organization, which is treated as a contribution, which means it is subject to the contribution limits.” ⁴⁸ Dietrich claims that he was later notified by a CTU attorney that the loan filing by the union would be amended to not violate state law, instead reclassifying it, “as a donation of aggregate union dues.” ⁴⁸

CTU Relations with Mayor Johnson

In 2024, Chicago Public Schools reportedly had a $1 billion shortfall that was blamed on the removal of emergency federal COVID-19 relief funds programs as well as efforts to redistribute funds between schools in the area. Despite this, the CTU’s proposed budget for 2024 contained more than $10 billion in spending, including a 9 percent wage increase for Chicago teachers, a housing program for Chicago teachers, and updating school electric systems to use more solar and wind energy. Chicago Public Schools projected that CTU’s budget would create a $2.9 billion budget deficit by 2025 and a $4 billion deficit by 2029. CTU later demanded the city of Chicago and State of Illinois to increase funding to meet a portion of the deficit, to which the Chicago Public Schools responded by pushing for budget cuts. On September 30, CTU staged a “walk-in” protest against Chicago Public Schools. ^{49 50 51 52}

Mayor Johnson expressed support for the CTU budget proposal, proposing a plan to settle the shortfall by taking out a short-term and high-interest loan of $300 million to cover $175 million in pension obligations and additional costs for salary increases. Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez argued against the proposal, calling it reckless spending that the district could not afford, while counteroffering an agreement to close under-enrolled schools, reducing staff, and freezing pay raises. For opposing his plan, Mayor Jonson demanded that Martinez resign, but the latter refused even though the entire Chicago Public Schools board would later resign. Chicago City Councilmember Bill Conway commented, “The entire Chicago Board of Education getting forced out for refusing to oust a fiscally responsible C.E.O. during contract negotiations is stunning.” Mayor Johnson appointed ten new board members, whom Chicago Magazine described as “a set of lackeys, brownnosers, and apple polishers who will carry out the Chicago Teachers Union’s program.” ^{49 50 53 39 40}

Criticism

In March 2024, the right-of-center Illinois Policy Institute filed an ethics complaint with the Chicago Public School district against the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) after CTU vice president Jackson Potter sent out an email advertising an event that encouraged students to vote and would conclude with the group going to an early voting station. According to the Institute, the event violated the Chicago Public Schools Code of Ethics which prohibits school employees from engaging in political activity during school hours. ⁵⁴

The Illinois Policy Institute has previously accused the CTU of financial mismanagement. In 2023, CTU ran the first deficit in its history of public records, where according to its own FY 2023 report, that year the organization only spent 17% of its funds on representing teachers while allegedly tripling its political spending to support the mayoral campaign for Brandon Johnson. The report also claimed that 500 educational employees in the Chicago Public Schools opted not to affiliate with CTU. ⁵⁵

Leadership

President

Stacy Davis Gates is the president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), who was appointed to her position in 2022. Prior to this, she served as Vice President of the CTU from 2018 through 2022, and beforehand was the CTU’s Political and Legislative Director. In addition, she became the Chairwoman of the political advocacy organization United Working Families in 2017, serves on the board of economic advocacy group Action Center on Race & the Economy and is the executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. ⁵⁶

The previous CTU President was Jesse Sharkey, who was appointed to the position in 2018 and served until 2022. Sharkey joined the CTU in 1998, previously serving as the CTU’s vice president. Prior to working with CTU, Sharkey was a social studies teacher and a political activist. ⁵⁷  The World Socialist Web Site has called Sharkey “a leading member of the International Socialist Organization.” ⁵⁸

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