LEWIS: Reached a late-night deal w/ schools |
The Chicago Teachers Union was actually reaching an agreement with the Chicago Public Schools toward a new contract for public school faculty.
Which
I’m sure would have added to the sense of depression that the Cubs-fan segment
of our city would have felt; after seeing the would-be heroics of Jake Arietta
and Kris Bryant erased in what became a 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants
that meant the Cubs would have to wait a day or two before seeing if they
advance in the National League playoffs.
It
really was a surprise moment – the teachers deciding not to take to the picket
lines, that is. I had braced myself for the thought of outraged labor rhetoric
to be spewed in coming days as long-lasting tensions would come pouring out.
Heck,
it was around 10 p.m. that Lewis was making public statements saying we should
expect the worst to happen. Only for the decision to be made about Midnight
that the sides were close enough that there would be no need for picket lines –
or a strike.
OF
COURSE, UNION officials made it be known that the agreement was merely a “tentative”
one, meaning that things could still fall apart.
“A
tentative agreement is not a final contract,” union officials said in a
midnight statement. “Every active member of the Chicago Teachers Union will
have an opportunity to review and vote on the agreement before a contract is
ratified.”
EMANUEL: Mayor spared aggravation |
It wasn’t sure when the union’s House of Delegates, then the full union, would take the votes that would formally approve a contract on their part.
For
the record, the agreement is for a four-year contract, meaning that Emanuel
will be able to get through the rest of his current mayoral term without having
labor strife from the teachers’ union. He can focus on all the other entities
that want to demean him for their own various reasons.
The
offer includes cost-of-living increases of 2 percent and 2.5 percent in the two
final years of the deal, and does not require teachers to pay a larger share to
cover the cost of their eventual pensions. Although
people hired to teach in the Chicago Public Schools in the future will have to
pay a larger share of their pensions. Which I’m sure they view as a problem to
deal with in the future, so long as the current faculty are protected.
Money to cover the cost of the slight pay raise and pension expenses will come from tax increment finance district funds made available by the city, which Cook County Clerk David Orr said was "a short-term fix" and that, "City Hall continues to dodge a fundamental problem with TIFs."
Money to cover the cost of the slight pay raise and pension expenses will come from tax increment finance district funds made available by the city, which Cook County Clerk David Orr said was "a short-term fix" and that, "City Hall continues to dodge a fundamental problem with TIFs."
FOR
HIS PART, Emanuel acted pleased, particularly by the fact he won’t have all
those p-o’ed parents to deal with. “Students across Chicago will be in school
this morning and on the path to a stronger and brighter future,” the mayor told
reporter-types Tuesday morning at City Hall.
The source of Wrigleyville's aggravation Tuesday |
That part about “stronger and brighter” might be a touch of exaggeration. But I don’t doubt the sincerity of pleasure at not having the Chicago schools in the national attention because of a teachers’ strike.
Who
knows? It may even turn out that not having to deal with a strike will help
some of those Cubs fan-types of people deal with the fact their favorite ball
club didn’t clinch its spot Monday in the next round of the National League
playoffs – even though they jumped out to an early lead with that Arietta home
run.
And
now, the schoolchildren of Chicago will be able to discuss Monday night’s
victory in the schoolyards of the city – that is, if they were even capable of
staying up that late on a school night, just to watch a ball game.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Hopefully, by now you've figured out where to find Channel FS1. Otherwise known as Fox Sports on your cable television lineup. And if you haven't keep in mind that maybe you're being spared much anguish watching ballgames like the one Monday night.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Hopefully, by now you've figured out where to find Channel FS1. Otherwise known as Fox Sports on your cable television lineup. And if you haven't keep in mind that maybe you're being spared much anguish watching ballgames like the one Monday night.
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