Chicago Tribune slams ‘extravagant’ teachers union for demanding higher pay: ‘Should be embarrassed’

The Chicago Tribune editorial board on Monday denounced the city’s “extravagant” teachers unions for demanding higher salaries, noting that the annual salary for Chicago public school teachers is nearly $95,000.

“Chicago Public Schools teachers are extraordinarily well paid by the standards of their profession,” the editorial board wrote. “The median salary for a CPS teacher is nearly $95,000. That’s 21 percent more than what teachers make in suburban Cook County, where the median salary is $78,000. Plus, CPS says it pays its teachers more than any other large school district in the country, and that’s before any raises they get in ongoing union contract negotiations.”

The Chicago Teachers Union is calling for a 9 percent annual raise for teachers. The teachers union is demanding an additional $50 billion to cover wage increases and other demands.

“The Chicago Teachers Union continues to demand 9% annual raises, an outlandish demand, and is becoming increasingly shrill as CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and his administration attempt to maintain the course on behalf of Chicago’s beleaguered taxpayers and facing intense pressure from Mayor Brandon Johnson must give CTU everything it wants,” the editorial board added.

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The Tribune editorial board also noted that the Chicago public school system suffered from “chronic absenteeism” among teachers.

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“So, given the audacity of these CTU demands and salaries that are already among the highest in the country, one would think that CPS teachers would be motivated to show up for work. School administrators tend to emphasize student attendance, but precious little attention is paid to how often teachers miss work,” the editorial board wrote.

State records show that more than 41 percent of CPS teachers exceeded 10 days of absence last year, the Chicago Tribune reported. These absences are in addition to the built-in vacation allocated to teachers for the school year, which includes ten days for winter break, five for spring break and eight additional days off for vacation, according to the media.

“Why is all we hear from the CTU are demands for more, while we never hear anything from the union about what its members owe to the taxpayers (and parents) of this city ?” said the Tribune.

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The editorial board said the Chicago teachers union and its president, Stacy Davis Gates, should be “embarrassed.”

“And coming to Chicago is the least we can expect from our highly paid public school educators,” the editorial board concluded.

Original article source: Chicago Tribune slams ‘extravagant’ teachers union for demanding higher pay: ‘Should be embarrassed’