Her maternal grandmother left Arkansas, worked on the West Side of Chicago, and wound her way to South Bend. [33], CTU and CTU PAC paid $316,000 to United Working Families, a labor-union-aligned political organization funded by CTU and SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana, to conduct organizing and advocacy in line with the policies and candidates supported by the Chicago Teachers Union. It turned me upside down., In 2005, in Gatess second year teaching at Englewood High, CPS announced the school would close. Salary Constraint Annual Dues; Members other than Paraprofessional: $57,869* or more: Between $46,439* and $57,869* 1% of salary. I think about them often in this work, she says. It was like a family. When asked about her political aspirations earlier this month on "Chicago Tonight," Davis Gates didn't rule it out flat, and on Tuesday said that she remains focused on her two current jobs: Being a mom to three CPS students, and serving union members in her role with CTU. This whole country said at one point, postGeorge Floyd, that Black lives matter, she called out from the Jacqueline B. Vaughn Hall stage on that final night of February. And they tried her a lot because she was younger. I can think of no one Id personally like to run the union more, but thats a decision our members get to make., Sharkey, 52, has been floated as a possible mayoral candidate. The CTU is Local 1 of the American Federation of Teachers, an Illinois Federation of Teachers affiliate and affiliated with the Chicago Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO. The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. Included in that spending was $300,000 to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (D) for her Mayoral campaign. West Ridge YMCA receives $3.75 million in U.S. funds for renovations, possible reopening U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky helped secure funds for the High Ridge YMCA, which is now being used to house migrants, two years after the facility was closed to the public. [23], The Chicago Teachers Union also operates a philanthropic organization, the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation (CTUF). They were so fearless in their ability to dream of me in this moment. The rhetoric on education reform and pension reform in Chicagois upside down. 2020. The couples son is named after his father. We felt like the system was being sabotaged by the people who were in charge of it, and the union was the one institution that had both the interest and the ability to do something about that. (, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/kristen-mcqueary/ct-column-ctu-teachers-venezuela-maduro-mcqueary-20190819-ulffab2mxjbyrdfu7hju5e4nz4-story.html, https://news.wttw.com/2018/01/30/ctu-members-approve-merger-charter-school-teachers-union, https://www.ctulocal1.org/union/constitution/, https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/article/file-attachments/Bargaining-Summary-2019-10-29.pdf, https://www.ctulocal1.org/union/member-information/dues/, http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/M-C/CTF-inv.htm, https://www.aft.org/periodical/psrp-reporter/fall-2015/form-more-perfect-union, http://www.lawcha.org/2014/05/23/courts-vs-teacher-unionism-justin-law/, https://education.msu.edu/EPC/library/papers/HowUnionsInfluenceEducationPolicy/, https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-forum-public-schools/why-cpsteacher-relations-have-been-so-contentious-so-long, https://labornotes.org/2012/09/behind-chicago-teachers-strike, https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/teachers-strike-puts-obama-in-a-political-bind/1938160/, https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/strike-ctu-charter-educators-strike-uno-acero/, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/us/chicago-cps-teachers-strike.html, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/10/16/chicago-teachers-strike-demands-include-push-affordable-housing-help-homeless-students/, https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/11/1/20943464/chicago-teachers-strike-deal, https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2020/5/20/21264993/chicago-teachers-union-sues-betsy-devos-cps-coronavirus-special-education-iep-trump, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-teachers-union-wages-lawsuit-cps-20200507-u2qqrnhcpzfwpaxdsq5yl5ge4e-story.html, https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/on-the-ctu-sale-of-fewkes-tower/, https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/1/17/21071027/chicago-teachers-union-ctu-spending-labor, https://www.ctuf.org/grants/grantees/grantees-list/, https://www.ctulocal1.org/movement/ctu-pac/, https://chicago.suntimes.com/2017/1/30/18461114/the-watchdogs-how-chicago-teachers-union-spends-its-money, https://www.centerforilpolitics.org/articles/beyond-the-picket-line-union-clout-tallied, https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/4/21178699/chicago-teachers-union-leaders-back-sanders-becoming-latest-to-offer-personal-endorsements-as-unions, https://www.illinoispolicy.org/leaked-emails-from-federal-investigation-reveal-madigan-as-himself/, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-chicago-schools-analysis/analysis-striking-chicago-teachers-take-on-national-education-reform-idUSBRE8890VS20120910, https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/02/18/chic-f18.html, https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/ctu-boss-talks-working-man-lives-wealthiest-1-percent, https://www.ctulocal1.org/about/#officers, https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/360/906/2018-360906695-112c3fb7-9O.pdf. Wagner Acerbi Horta and Brendan Rigney, Beyond the picket line: Union clout, tallied, Center for Illinois Politics, October 27, 2019. Every problem in societyhunger, domestic violence, povertyit walks into your doors, doesnt it? Sanders said to the crowd gathered inside CTU headquarters. [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. It depresses you. Karen was a curious leader, Gates says. She attended Saint Marys College, the University of Notre Dame, and Concordia University. Chicago Teachers Union, 2019-2020 Dues. chicago.suntimes.com. Guidestar, Chicago Teachers Union, 2017 990. Chicago Teachers Union, History. Chicago is a city that can leave behind, even devour, its young. Accessed June 02, 2020. Youd see these kids going to school-closing hearings, singing, performing, saying, Please dont close our school. Salary Breakdown (2019) Total Compensation . Accessed June 01, 2020. From milquetoast to militant is how Jane F. McAlevey described the unions evolution in her 2016 book, No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age. Neither issue stuck, but the negotiations forced the two sidesand everyone watching themto grapple with how learning and achieving are affected by far more than class size and pedagogy. Accessed June 02, 2020. Photo: Colin Boyle/Associated Press As a teacher and union delegate at Englewood High School, Jackson fought school closings when former CEO Arne Duncan called the school a culture of failure and started a phase-out in 2005. I liked the ability to free someone from something that was unfair or unjust.. Learn more about how easy it is to take the next step and join the IFT! We dont walk backwards and pretend that yesterday was better than what we can imagine tomorrow to be. You are confronted with unparalleled grief. The impact of historical, generational disinvestment on the South Side and West Side of the city is difficult for people who are experiencing it to challenge, because its every day and it covers all facets of their existence. Stacy Davis Gates. (That didnt rattle Lewis, who years later told a crowd gathered at the Hideout for an event, I know bad words, too. The ongoing pandemic has disproportionately affected Chicagos Black and brown residents, who make up close to 90 percent of CPS families. *negotiated* salary schedules in public education means I know that my experience and education is valued the same for me as it is for my colleagues. Stacy Davis GatesPresident, Chicago Teachers Union Stacy Davis Gates is the President of the Chicago Teachers Union and the Executive Vice President of the I. I remember spending a lot of time in preparation for classesgetting primary sources together, getting supporting documentation together, making connections through newspaper articles and periodicals that related back to the historical thing I was teaching. Before she was elected CTU president in 2022, Davis Gates served four years as vice president of the union. And she did go on the trip. Sharkey has been with the CTU since 1998, previously serving as the unions vice president. Im disappointed that in 2022 we still believe that Black people are a monolith.. A few minutes past 6 p.m., with the board meeting streaming on her iPhone, Gates walked through the refurbished warehouse in West Town that serves as the unions headquarters and into the Jacqueline B. Vaughn Hall, named for first African American woman to lead the CTU. Accessed June 02, 2020. In 2017, Ms. Davis Gates was elected Chair of United Working Families, an independent political organization by and for working-class people and our movements. The CTUF has lost $2 million per year since the sale of the Fewkes Tower. God Bless. American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. It felt like people were still begging American institutions to see our humanity. She was educated at Saint Marys College, the University of Notre Dame, and Concordia University. I was made to, she says, by my parents. They werent about to let her miss the Liberty Bellor disobey the principal. That was the moment I was radicalized.. Enrollment had declined precipitously. This effort resulted in both support and opposition. In 2020, the city was running an $838 million budget deficit, and Chicagos school system bonds have been rated below investment-grade in recent years. When you hear my fire, you hear Hazel. Preckwinkle lost to Lori Lightfoot (D). We know how to teach remotely. [3]. Previously, Gates served as the Political and Legislative Director for CTU. Ms. Davis Gates is currently on leave from the classroom, where she taught high school social studies for over a decade at Englewood, Clemente, and Mason Community Links High Schools. They would have you to believe that Black lives, queer lives dont matter in this country. $497.86: Less than $46,439* $721.68: Paraprofessionals and School-related Personnel: N/A: Discord between CTU leadership and the mayor is hardly novel, either. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. These arent just personality conflicts, Sharkey tells me. It had to do with finding human connections., Kimbrough was in Gatess first African American history class. Find out where to go, what to eat, where to live, and more. They remain on strike. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. [28], The Chicago Teachers Union also operates the CTU PAC, a campaign committee that supports candidates who fight against school reform. And she doesnt like it., He calls her sensitivity her superpower, even as it invites blowback. After her twelve-year career as a classroom educator, Stacy married her political ambitions with her passion for educational advocacy and joined the revitalized Chicago Teachers Union. After 12 years as one of the primary faces of the Chicago Teachers Union, Jesse Sharkey is returning to the classroom. This is a logo for Chicago Teachers Union. In addition, CTU PAC donated $1.2 million to candidates and political organizations. She has raised millions of dollars to elect classroom teachers to all levels of local government, and challenge school privatizers and union busters. Campbell, Alexia Fernndez, The 11-day teachers strike in Chicago paid off, Vox, November 01, 2019. They led every meeting with school-based discussions of billionaires, banks and racism., The union started partnering with community organizations known largely for fighting gentrificationthe Pilsen Alliance, Logan Square Neighborhood Alliance, Kenwood-Oakland Community Organizationto attend school board meetings and host community forums on school closures. Whos the president of the Chicago Teachers Union? And theyre like, No, its just for the honor kids. And shes like, Well, then I aint going. I mean, imagine being that kid in third grade or fifth grade whos like, No. But she didnt play any games. Stacy Davis Gates is the President of the Chicago Teachers Union. The gifted students were invited on a field trip to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and other historic landmarks. My pawpaw used to watch it, and I watched it with him, she says. I was hurt. Stacy Davis Gates has served as the Political and Legislative Director for the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) for the past six years. It irks Gates that theres an expectation that she and the mayor should get along. The Chicago Teachers Union has elected a new president: Stacy Davis Gates. They were a constant in a time when things were just all over the place. [7], 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. The air crackled with applause. The Chicago Teachers Unions heir apparent sees herself as a righteous champion of not just educators but of students. You are confronted with different children from different households coming inside a school community who are processing rape and violence and trauma in so many different ways. STACY DAVIS GATES, DELEGATE. 2020 Chicago magazine / A Chicago Tribune Media Group website. She walked off the stage and headed upstairs to join the Nicholson STEM Academy teachers meeting. Occupation: Vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union. Chicago Teachers Union 1901 W. Carroll Ave. Chicago, IL 60612. 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. The E Board directs the work of the officers, sets the agenda for the House of Delegates, and makes decisions in emergencies. While at the CTU, Davis Gates has been the architect of bold political and legislative campaigns for the schools and city that all Chicagoans deserve. Thank you so much for everything you do. Accessed June 02, 2020. Im PROUD of you. That the work stoppages rob students of crucial instructional time. [12] The CTU won recognition as the collective bargaining agent for its members in 1966, and reached its first collective bargaining contract in 1967. She didnt have any notes with her onstage. Ms. Gates, outstanding articulation of concise and pointed perspectives given on WCPT 820 AM on 10/18. Stacy Davis Gates is the President of the Chicago Teachers Union. It will not happen on my watch., At her own news conference, Gates fired back, going after Lightfoot personally: This mayor is unfit to lead our city. Age: 43 Elizabeth Warren, a presidential candidate at the time, joined teachers on the picket line on a blustery October morning. I have enormous respect for the load Lightfoot and Gates carry, Sive wrote, but were tired, girlfriends. [31], 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. Gateswho had stepped away from the classroom in 2011 to ramp up her union activities, traveling to Springfield to lobby for the CTUs legislative agenda and serving as the organizations political directorwas elected to fill his post. It made me feel powerless. Simply put,the school districts budget is being balanced on the backs ofschoolchildren, senior citizens, and public employees.MayorEmanuel does not have a budget crisis he has a prioritycrisis. Op-Ed by Stacy Davis-Gates August 22, 2013 (Sun Times), I heard you on Progressive Talk Rado yesterday youre a WINNER and a KEEPER! The results were mixed for CTU. Masterson, Matt, CTU Members Approve Merger With Charter School Teachers Union, WTTW, January 30, 2018. Your messaging is atrocious. 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. In fall 2019, she helped lead a 15-day strike and negotiate a historic contract that provides for smaller class sizes, ensures a nurse and social worker in every Chicago public school, secures sanctuary protections for immigrant families, and supports students and families experiencing homelessness. Advertisement. 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. Action Network, CTU PAC. She is an IFT executive board vice president, member of the IFT Scholarship Committee and has served as co-chair of the IFT PSRP Constituency Committee and organizer of its bi-annual PSRP Constituency Conference. In Gatess office at CTU headquarters, a Notorious SDG print with her likeness hangs above her deska riff on those Notorious RBG prints that were ubiquitous for a while. Accessed June 01, 2020. And someone with those qualitiessensitive, brilliant, cares a lot about justiceif youre a Black woman with those qualities, you get a lot of people who take umbrage., He recalls a story that Gates told him years ago about being the only Black girl in the gifted program at her South Bend elementary school. Photo: CLARISSA BONET | HAIR AND MAKEUP: DENISE MILLOY/MAKEUP MAGIC INC. Im going to continue to embody both of their hopes and dreams, but also provide a pathway for the Hazel and the Laura in my household right now, that they get to be whoever they want to be in this world. Later she tells me: I cant advocate on behalf of public education and the children of this city and educators in this city without it taking root in my own household.. In what era has it ever been ethical, moral or vogue to close schools in poor, under-resourced blackcommunities and fire experienced, dedicated school personnel,and then try to justify those decisions by claiming budgetshortfalls on unwieldy retiree pay..Chicagos Mayor RahmEmanuel has abdicated his responsibility as chief executive of thecity and made it a practice to scapegoat his wrong-headedpolicies on the most vulnerable populations in the city. South Side of Chicago Accessed June 02, 2020. Stacy says, What about the rest of the kids? Sharkey recounts. Here she addresses the media on last day of the teachers strike on Oct. 31, 2019. I said survive. On the elevator, I asked her if her speech was prepared. I remember we were never able to take a book home because they didnt have a book for every student, says Latoyia Kimbrough, a 2005 graduate who now works as in-house legal counsel for CTU. Chicago Teachers Union vice president Stacy Davis Gates talks about the looming vote to decide whether members will work remotely, in opposition to the school district's orders.Subscribe to FOX 32 Chicago: https://www.youtube.com/c/FOX32ChicagoNews?sub_confirmation=1Watch FOX 32 Chicago Live: https://www.fox32chicago.com/liveFOX 32 Chicago delivers breaking news, live events, investigations, politics, entertainment, business news and local stories from Chicago and across the nation.Watch more FOX 32 Chicago on YouTube:FOX 32 Headlines: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2-nR6U1joOT92lWD_QLYoNijiDo9uYaPGood Day Chicago: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2-nR6U1joORm02SSjflpEVzL0ydEqeFuSpecial reports and stories: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2-nR6U1joOTGGgDx9B31HcT9IM60Al0-Download the FOX 32 Chicago News app: https://fox32chicago.onelink.me/KNQ9?pid=social\u0026c=youtube\u0026af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fox32chicago.com%2FappsDownload the FOX 32 Chicago Weather app: https://euklz.app.link/Px4UxyP4PebFollow FOX 32 Chicago on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fox32Chicago/Follow FOX 32 Chicago on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fox32news/Follow FOX 32 Chicago on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fox32news/Subscribe to the FOX 32 Chicago newsletter: https://www.fox32chicago.com/newsletters She showed up to cheer on the football team on Friday nights. I tell people all the time Im only one generation separated from a cotton field, Gates says. If you dont fight for it, you wont receive it.. Stacy Davis Gates is president of the Chicago Teachers Union and executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Ms. Davis Gates lives on the South Side of Chicago with her husband and three children. I would like to thank you for taking a stand,and expressing your thoughts and how to respond to the republican party. She played in student-staff basketball games. Johnson was paid a $103,000 salary by CTU, in addition to his $85,000 salary as a Cook County Commissioner. This year began with the shooting death of 8-year-old Melissa Ortega, a student at Emiliano Zapata Academy in Little Village; the murder of Amanda Alvarez-Calo, a pre-K teacher at Matthew Gallistel Language Academy in East Side; and a shooting outside Alessandro Volta Elementary School in Albany Park that sent it into lockdown. But she would later learn that it wasnt always so level upstream. Ms. Davis Gates lives on the South Side of Chicago with her husband and three children. Christel Williams is a 25-year veteran of Chicago Public Schools, serving as a PSRP delegate, district supervisor, functional vice president and American Federation of Teachers-Illinois Federation of Teachers (AFT-IFT) convention delegate in that time. While at the CTU, Davis Gates has been the architect of bold political and legislative campaigns for the schools and city that all Chicagoans deserve. Accessed June 02, 2020. You dont need notes to talk to your family.. We sat at a table debating ventilation during an airborne pandemic. Chicago Teachers Union vice president Stacy Davis Gates talks about the looming vote to decide whether members will work remotely, in opposition to the schoo. A union member made it for her. The CTU is no small thing. Chicago Teachers Union Foundation, Our History. Neither side backs down from the fight. And now, after CTU president Jesse Sharkey announced in February that he wouldnt seek reelection, she is primed to take over the top slot at what is arguably the nations most powerful teachers union. The public face of Chicagos teachers, who stand squarely at the center of the countrys labor movement and culture wars, Gates, 45, is an unflinching critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and a fierce opponent of attempts to privatize public education. 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. I see 10, 20, 30, 45, 100 little brown girls that look just like her. (I was told you have to be a good writer to be an attorney.) She volunteered with an Urban League program that connected her to local middle school kids, and she felt pulled toward child advocacy. Accessed June 02, 2020. 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. Stacy can be contacted at [emailprotected]. I was hurt. She shut that down pretty quickly., Kimbrough remembers Gates and Potter, Englewood Highs debate coach at the time, playing in those basketball games. Prior to her current role at the CTU, she served as the unions Political and Legislative Director. This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation and your ability to provide feedback, analyze your use of our products and services, and assist with our promotional and marketing efforts. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates speaks as the CTU and the local school council held a news conference on Sept. 28, 2021, outside Jensen Elementary School in North Lawndale. I can take off my earrings and get the Vaseline.), Still, the nationally televised conflict early in Lightfoots termwith Democratic heavy hitters siding with the teachersset the stage for the successive years of highly tempestuous dealings. And it was an early glimpse at the way some kids are placed on a path to succeed, while others are left behind. Teachers strikes are not new to this city. CPS has had four CEOs in the past seven years, including twoBarbara Byrd-Bennett and Forrest Claypoolwho left in disgrace. Key Data. (When asked about it on the Crains Chicago Business podcast A.D. Q&A in January, Gates said that the notion of her running was something she first heard from Lightfoots lips and was not a priority for her. CTU is a local union of the American Federation of Teachers, the countrys second-largest national teachers union. A 1987 strike lasted a record 19 school days. 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. Day, Marcus, The International Socialist Organization backs Mayor Emanuels attack on Chicago teachers, World Socialist Web Site, February 18, 2016.
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