S.E.A. SUPPORTS CORE
The School Employee Alliance, (S.E.A.) endorses the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) for the following reasons:
- S.E.A. stands firm in its position that the current contract has many flaws and ambiguities in its language. We disagree with the current leadership that this is the most productive and popular contract in CTU history. CORE supports a strong contract.
- CORE’s pledge to create a multi-caucused union corroborates the S.E.A. Platform. Members of all caucuses working together will translate into more knowledge and experience at the bargaining table when dealing with the Board of Education.
- S.E.A. is committed to change and reform. CORE’s pledge to create a member-driven Chicago Teachers Union will promote true democracy and transparency, while providing a unified front that will be beneficial to all its members.
- A CORE victory on June 11th will balance control of the CTU Executive Board between two caucuses. S.E.A. believes this will ensure honest dialogue and debate in bringing information to the House of Delegates.
- S.E.A. agrees with CORE that the supreme governing body of the Chicago Teachers Union, next to the general membership itself, is the House of Delegates.
Lastly, S.E.A. feels that a change in leadership is necessary to send a clear message to the Board of Education, Mr. Huberman, and Mayor Daley, that Chicago Teachers and Paraprofessionals are against school closures in its present form, job losses, an unreasonable working environment, and an unfair employee discipline code.
School Employee Alliance (S.E.A) Officer Candidates
Synergy, Experience, A New Direction
Click on the names to view candidates' video
BELEN ALCOZER, MICHAEL MIGUEST, THEODORE HAJIHARIS, PAMELA TOURAS
Throughout the last decade, our union has consistently been weakened. Our membership has seen the deterioration of contract provisions; historically high job losses; the institution of an unfair Employee Discipline Code; in-fighting amongst our union caucuses; and Board Policies that have eroded the security that once ensured teaching professionals a full pension at retirement.
VOTE FOR THE SCHOOL EMPLOYEE ALLIANCE (S.E.A) ON FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2010
The S.E.A. proudly presents its Executive Board Members
With your help and support, these individuals will serve as the next Chicago Teachers Union Executive Board
S.E.A. Co-Founder and Current CTU Field Representative Theodore
"Ted" M. Hajiharis looks on as Pamela Touras speaks to CPS Board Members about "Performance School Models" .
The following remarks were delivered to the January 27, 2010 meeting of the Chicago Board of Education.
photo by George Schmidt, used of courtesy Substancenews.net
Good morning everyone. My name is Pamela Touras and I am the co-founder of the S.E.A., the School Employee Alliance. Proud to be a Chicago Teachers Union Caucus. My question pertains to Performance Model Schools.
Briefly, when the Board opens Performance Schools, the model employs teachers under the Chicago Teachers Union Collective Bargaining Agreement. All teachers who are hired are required to be 100% certified by the Illinois State Board of Education.
Now that the city has indicated that Renaissance 2010 will continue indefinitely, will this Board consider re-opening ALL closed schools under the Performance Model, in lieu of continuing privatization through the charter and contract models?The S.E.A. feels it will stop the decrease in our unions' membership. We have lost close to 6,000 members in the last 6 years.
Board Officials, including Schools Chief Ron Huberman, had no response to Ms. Touras' question.
February Letter to Delegates
Dear Delegates,
As you know, May 21, 2010 will be the only opportunity for Chicago Public School Classroom Teachers, City-Wide Teachers, and Paraprofessionals, to send CPS a clear message.
The Chicago Teachers Union elected leadership must change!
Our rank and file membership has ONE opportunity to change the direction our union is taking. The systems’ 30,000 members are counting on you to take a lead role in the upcoming officers’ election by providing your schools’ staff members with a voting recommendation. The S.E.A. would like your approval because our leadership and supporters want to see the following:
- Bring respect to our members and stop all types of CPS intimidation.
- Create honesty, fairness, and leadership within our own House of Delegates.
- Negotiate real job protections and eliminate major contract loopholes.
- Keep salaries and benefits proportionate to Chicago’s rising economy.
- Create a new and unified CTU with members of all caucuses.
By re-electing Marilyn Stewart’s UPC Caucus, the membership will then be validating: school closings, massive job losses, dishonesty and lack of democracy, significant misappropriation of our dues, an unnecessary long contract with ambiguous language, picking and choosing how to use our constitution and by-laws, single party rule and private club mentality, along with preferential treatment to those members who support HER personal agenda.
Why do members support the School Employee Alliance?
- Our presidential candidate is a contract expert with an established political background.He understands the inner workings of CPS and CTU, is familiar with both clerical and managerial aspects of CTU day to day operations, and has a well established reputation as a powerful advocate for our CTU members. Simply put, he is the only bona fide union professional with reliable and trustworthy qualifications.
- All of our officer candidates have specific expertise and experience. They represent the diversity within our membership.
- Our officer candidates have the ability to run the Chicago Teachers Union, without the concern of any internal disruptions with existing contracted union staff. The S.E.A. has what it takes to successfully run the CTU with efficiency and accountability from their first day in office!
CPS has made it very clear that they intend to exercise their authority to re-open our contract. Support REAL CHANGE AND REFORM without sacrificing experience, knowledge, and credibility.
o THE S.E.A. LEADERS HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN THE NEXT DECADE OF BOARD/UNION RELATIONS
o SUPPORT EXPERIENCE, ENERGY, AND HONESTY!
February Letter to Delegates - Part II
Before we can begin mending Board/Union relations, we MUST put our own House in Order.
If elected, the S.E.A. VOWS to repair and reform the CTU by implementing the following:
- Following the CTU Constitution and By-Laws which state that “…the decision of the House of Delegates on Union matters shall be supreme and final.”
- Following Robert’s Rules of Order and providing training for the delegates who may not be familiar with House procedures
- A non-partisan parliamentarian to clarify any procedural oversights
- Microphones back on the House floor to make accessible to all delegates
- Establishing a contract committee with members of ALL CAUCUSES
- President who will not need to refer to office staff to answer contract questions
- An updated website providing pertinent information including current job vacancies and potential opportunities
- A printed directory of delegates
- Monthly Committee Report minutes on-line for all members to peruse
- Leave the House Meetings informed and empowered
- Focus our energy on battling CPS policy instead of each other
- Send pragmatic and aggressive lobbyists to Springfield who understand our specific legislative agenda and update our members regularly via the website
These items are not a wish list. They are real measures the S.E.A. will implement the first few months we take office. The S.E.A. Officer Candidates are all active and experienced members within the House of Delegates.
We look forward to the opportunity of serving the membership in an even greater capacity.
January Letter to Delegates
Dear Delegates,
We hope you’ve been receiving our mailings at your schools and our leaflets at the monthly delegate meetings. Today, our goal is to point out a few differences between ours and other caucuses. We are confident our message stands above the others.
The S.E.A. approach is the most realistic. For example, while other groups are calling for an end to Renaissance 2010, we recognize this program has gained national attention by closing so called “failing” schools. The S.E.A. realizes that stopping this program, given the current political climate, could be close to impossible. We further understand that the Board of Education could re-open these schools under their “performance model” employing CTU teachers under the protection of the Chicago Teachers Union contract. The current situation allows union members in schools slated for closure to ultimately lose their jobs. The S.E.A. platform includes a specific proposal to protect these teachers’ jobs.
We would require CPS provide members time to obtain new certification whenever CPS changes the direction of a school’s program. The alternative has been organizing charter schools with another union. This measure does not protect our members, but effectively weakens the CTU by eating away at our membership.
The S.E.A. is the only group with a plan to bring members of all caucuses together on committees, as convention delegates, and full-time CTU staffers. No other caucus can claim this, and if they should, their past actions do not demonstrate a commitment to this approach.
The S.E.A. leadership believes the only way to confront a power like CPS is through a unified front. If elected, we will organize the first multi-caucused leadership able to run CTU operations from Day One. We must all help change the course our union has taken. However, our current choices include caucuses that suffer from appeals to emotion, personal agendas, and inexperience. And as we have stated before;
“A FAILED PAST CANNOT TRANSLATE INTO A PROMISING FUTURE”.
The members at your school deserve the best option. Look into the School Employee Alliance and you’ll find a group of school employees, diverse in age and background, with a vested interest in the next decade of Board/Union relations. Visit our website to see our officer candidates for the May, 2010 election! New videos from members will let you see who we are, and why the S.E.A. is the only alternative to the current elected leaders who promote divisive “business as usual”.
Finally, one of our co-founders, Pamela Touras-Andrikopoulos, (P.T.A.), Delegate for McPherson Elementary School has an opportunity to become the only member of the current Executive Board that is not also a member of Marilyn Stewart’s UPC! Thank you for supporting her at last month’s House of Delegates meeting, and we hope you’ll further support her in the runoff at this month’s meeting.
"How The Contract DOES NOT Work For You"- HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS
In the 1999-2003 CTU/BOARD Agreement, insurance premiums were deducted from CTU member’s paychecks as a flat rate. They were as follows:
| Base Pay | Single | Couple | Family |
| Up to $27,000 | $11.78 | $13.46 | $15.15 |
| $27,001 to $60,000 | $26.50 | $30.00 | $34.50 |
| $60,001 and up | $41.00 | $46.88 | $52.73 |
In the 2003-2007 CTU/BOARD Agreement, hastily negotiated and forced upon the delegates by former president and current presidential candidate from the Pro-Active Chicago Teachers caucus, infuriated delegates and rank and file members back in August of 2003 by agreeing to change the flat rate based to a percentage of the members’ salaries. The percentage was as follows:
November / December Letter to Delegates
Dear Delegates,
School Employee Alliance members were out in force at the November 2009 House of Delegates Meeting. We hope you received and have reviewed our materials which addressed two issues:
Support for a proposed amendment which would have ensured that any union leadership must explain, discuss, and debate any and all referendums with a delegate’s recommendation before a full membership vote. We are disappointed with the typical partisan position of the officers availing themselves of unconfirmed technicalities, to once again deny the House of Delegates its proper authority.
Our perspective on the November 20th referendum (vote) in schools, as we have indicated, is that the current elected leadership is using our union dues, and all the resources and manpower at their disposal to protect their own politically tenuous positions.
CTU/UPC “Leadership” Under Marilyn Stewart Speaks for Itself.In August, 2007, Ms. Stewart et al imposed the current contract on the membership by denying the House of Delegates an opportunity for a legitimate vote. Since that defining moment of Stewart’s tenure House meetings have continued to be plagued with fraudulent vote counts.
In May, 2008, Delegates were brazenly informed that the Chicago Teachers Union was bankrupt. Stewart blamed everyone and everything but her administration, in spite of having been in office for over four years and having inherited a 5.2 million dollar surplus from the previous administration. That year ended with a June 2008 budget vote in which Stewart and her cronies flipped a clearly failed budget vote of 194-163 to a passed vote of 194-163.
Attention Elementary School Delegates:
The following is the one minute presentation by Pamela Touras-Andrikopoulos at the December 9th House of Delegates Meeting. Ms. Touras is in a run-off against a member of the UPC caucus for the final seat on the CTU Executive Board as an Elementary Functional Vice-President. If elected, she will become the only non-UPC member of the Executive Board.
It really hurts me to see our members so divided.
This was clearly evident in the recent referendum vote.
This is why I have spent the last 18 months going from caucus to caucus trying to convince Ms. Lynch, Mr. Dallas, and Jackson Potter to stop the infighting.
"How The Contract DOES NOT Work For You"
Why do Chicago Public School Teachers work after school-programs for a reduced rate of pay?
The School Employee Alliance tells you why.
In the 2003-2007 Board /Union Agreement negotiated by former Chicago Teachers Union President Deborah Lynch, (Appendix A, sec.24) granted Chicago Public Schools the authority to reduce after-school wages. Ms. Lynch’s inexperienced negotiating team gave CPS officials the opportunity to create a policy that puts fewer dollars in our members’ pockets working overtime.
The current 2007-2012 Board/Union Agreement, negotiated by current C.T.U. president Marilyn Stewart, expanded on what Ms. Lynch initiated through more specific language and a breakdown of after-school assignments and salaries.
Article 44-41 After-School Rate of Pay:
Provides a clear distinction between instructional and non-instructional rates of pay;
Stipulates that these monies are non-pensionable;
and specifies which programs offer reduced pay
See p. 109 of the current agreement
Why are members of the Chicago Teachers Union working for reduced pay when other union members nationwide get time and a half and double time?
OUR LAST TWO UNION PRESIDENTS SETTLED FOR LESS!
FOR REAL CHANGE AND SOLIDARITY: SUPPORT THE S.E.A. !!
October Letter to Delegates
As we move further into the 2009-2010 school year it is important to understand the direction the current C.T.U. leadership has taken us. The areas we would like to address this month include job losses, payroll, and this past October House of Delegates Meeting.
Job Losses
Since last May, we have seen over 500 Provisionally Assigned Teacher (PAT/s) non-renewals; 700 more tenured teachers in the “reassigned” pool; projected enrollment cuts that could cost 500 more teacher positions; and “20th school day” displacements could easily put the total number of job losses over 2000; all this within just the last five months! The length of the 2007-2012 Contract limits the Union’s ability to stop these attacks on our members while providing CPS the time and ability to construe the contract to their advantage with no bona fide threat of job action.
September Letter to Delegates
The S.E.A. (School Employee Alliance), an officially formed caucus within the Chicago Teachers Union, consists of a group of teachers and PSRP’s who see the need for real reform in our Union. Here are some issues that have caused our group to come together:
- We see the damage to our Union's effectiveness caused by in-fighting among our delegates and activists.
- We believe CTU leadership should strive to earn the membership's admiration and trust.
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