A few weeks after the 2007-2012 Board/Union Agreement was forced upon school delegates by President Stewart during the infamous August 31, 2007 contract vote meeting, ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOGCjjyIuf8&feature=related ) the Chicago Teachers Union withdrew a grievance and changed contract language that would have protected thousands of tenured teachers who worked in any newly created programs or schools instituted in CPS.

Article 42-4 of the 2003-2007 Board/Union Agreement states in part: Effective September 5, 1983 whenever the BOARD designates or re-designates, classifies or re-classifies a school, or a program within the school, whether through Options for Knowledge, the Effective Schools Program, or any other program, the BOARD shall select the school’s or program’s staff from regularly appointed tenured teachers. In choosing between applicants who are equally well qualified in terms of published criteria, the BOARD shall accord a preference to a person who is already on the staff at the school.

A grievance was filed in 2006 on behalf of the Chicago Teachers Union by Field Representative and current S.E.A Candidate for President, Theodore “Ted” M. Hajiharis. On September 7, 2007, immediately after the controversial ratification of the current 5 year contract, Stewart withdrew the above mentioned grievance/arbitration. That specific contract language was replaced with the extremely ambiguous and non-enforceable language in the current 2007-2012 Board/Union Agreement! It now reads as follows:

42-3. states: Ability and qualifications being equal, principals in new and re-designated schools shall give preference to tenured teachers who apply to fill vacancies.

Stewart’s UPC negotiating team watered-down over three paragraphs of job security for veteran tenured teachers by reducing contract language that has been in every contract for the last 27 years.

What does this mean? Teachers who lost their jobs due to Renaissance 2010 would have been able to keep their jobs if they filed grievance

Synergy, Experience, A New Direction
IT’S TIME FOR THE CTU SHIP TO START SAILING SMOOTHLY