He took over the top job in 2018 from Lewis, who died last year after a battle with brain cancer. Jupiter and Venus appear to 'kiss' in the sky, Belvidere Jeep assembly plant shut down indefinitely, Chicago Weather: Cloudy and much cooler Thursday. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left;width:100%;font-weight:normal;}, Beyond Chicago from the Air with Geoffrey Baer, The Great Chicago Fire: A Chicago Stories Special, Stacy Davis Gates Wins Election to Become Next CTU President, Jesse Sharkey, President of Chicago Teachers Union, Not Running For Reelection, Gov. There has been no in-person school for almost a year. Teachers confront a political battle against the Democratic Party, which no less than the Republican Party speaks for Wall Street. I never planned on a decade-plus of union leadership, because I do not think that is the goal of movement work. CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey will not run for reelection, he announced to the CTU House of Delegates Wednesday. Sharkey said he never planned to serve more than a decade in union leadership. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). CTU President Jesse Sharkey wont seek re-election. It comes amid several personal issues for Sharkey, the report said: His mother died in October 2020, his CTU predecessor and . J.B. Pritzker releases report on services for youth mental health, Six education issues to follow during the Illinois legislative session, Chicago Public Schools will add, upgrade security cameras in bold investment over the next three years. Chicago 2023 mayoral election: Former schools chief, teachers union organizer headed to runoff, In a tight mayoral race, Paul Vallas legacy as Chicago schools first CEO comes into focus, Gov. Reflecting on his time in union leadership, Sharkey said he has no regrets and wouldnt point to anything he would do differently. "It was shocking for many - our enemies, especially - to see teachers take the lead. Find the Zoom link and other relevant information on the AFT Black Caucus, Chicago Chapter website, specifically the[]. But I dont want her to play the lawyer in all this. The Heartland Institute offers free email subscriptions to all of its newsletters and monthly public policy newspapers. Davis Gates said that if she is elected the unions next leader, she will let membership input inform her agenda and priorities. Shes been on my mind a lot, Sharkey said. Mary Esposito-Usterbowski, the presidential candidate on the Members First slate, released a statement saying Sharkeys announcement is an acknowledgment that now is the time to bring new leadership to our union. See the CPS Calendar page for more dates and information. The CTU has been a trailblazer for the career opportunities of other left union reformers in Los Angeles, New York and other cities. The Red for Ed movement is becoming redder by the day. Sharkey will have served four terms in CTU . On December 31, Chicago news station WGN published social media posts by Chicago Teachers Union Area Vice President Sarah Chambers enjoying a vacation in Puerto Rico just days before thousands of teachers were forced back into dangerous school buildings under Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoots reopening plan. It has been a partnership that has challenged me to be better, to be thoughtful, to take my time. Describing himself as more of a pragmatic, traditional trade unionist, he once said he worried about following on the heels of the charismatic Lewis. CTU President Jesse Sharkey, right, announced on Feb. 2, 2022 that he won't seek re-election in CTU elections in May. Brian Hopkins, who called her out for her failure to stop the downtown looting that led to flight to the suburbs. Chicago Teachers Union 1901 W. Carroll Ave. Chicago, IL 60612, The Chicago Teachers Union represents more than 25,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the nearly 400,000 students and families they serve. Long coveted by CTU bosses, House Bill 2275 would eliminate a provision in state law that limits what school officials are required to negotiate with the union. Candidates have taken aim at Vallas, arguing he helped create Chicago schools current financial problems and laid the groundwork that led to the eventual closing of Black and Latino schools. The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third-largest teachers local in the United States. All Rights Reserved. My mother passed away in October of 2020, followed by a brutal school reopening campaign and Karen's death in February of 2021. She should be hailed as a hero for giving Chicagoans another reminder that the teachers union leaders remain a group of out-of-touch phonies and hypocrites using the coronavirus crisis to gain political might. We were a group of educators whose schools were being closed, meeting at protests, public hearings and the Chicago Board of Education in defense of our classrooms and colleagues. It was shocking for many - our enemies, especially - to see teachers take the lead. March 17, 2021 / 5:12 PM / CBS Chicago CHICAGO (CBS) -- Time. A new report from Gov. And CTU President Jesse Sharkey crossed the line. In reality, she is a card-carrying member of the dreaded 1 percent class. Yeah, there have been some conflicts for contracts, (but) those contracts have really set a bar and moved new resources into our schools and if it was difficult for those changes to sink through to the people on the other side of the table, I dont apologize for it.. Robert Bruno, an expert in labor relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a close observer of the Chicago Teachers Union, said Karen Lewis conceived the unions more expansive, aggressive stance at the bargaining table and beyond. All it would take is a state Senate confirmation and Gov. "It is this discretion that is at the core of our concerns with Chicago's pandemic response," Sharkey wrote. In October 2014, he became acting President of the CTU after Karen Lewis stepped down as President due to illness. At a time when most U.S. citizens havebenefited from the Trump tax cuts, the American Federation of Teachers joined up with a motley assemblage of leftwing organizations over the summer on what was billed as the Tax the Rich Bus Tour. The road show, which lasted 35 days and ended just last week, was replete with the usual tropes including demands that the rich and corporations pay their fair share and other socialist-inspired class warfare twaddle. Among Union officers, Stacy is to me what I was to Karen: a steady force that I have leaned on during the most turbulent of times. She instilled in her son the importance of compassion, a strong sense of justice and a commitment to the greater good. Jesse Sharkey won't seek reelection as head of 25,000-member Chicago Teachers Union The former social studies teacher will step away from CTU leadership when his fourth term ends June 30 and . After 12 years as one of the primary faces of the Chicago Teachers Union, Jesse Sharkey is returning to the classroom. Jay Halsteadrecently gave fans a very intimate look into his personal life. It has been more than a decade since the CORE (Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators) faction, made up of members of the defunct International Socialist Organization (ISO), the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other pseudo-left groups, took over the CTU based on rhetoric about social justice unionism and union democracy. Chambers, a longtime co-chair of CORE, calls herself a socialist, traveled to Venezuela in 2019 with a delegation of Chicago teachers, and is regularly interviewed in Labor Notes and Jacobin, the semi-official publication of the DSA. When she ran for mayor, I admired many things about her, and still do. As reported byChicago City Wire, in the unions name,the group met with dictator Nicolas Maduros henchmen, including the Ministry of Communes, Ministry of Education, Adult Education Teachers, and students, as well as on-the-ground activists, praising the Maduro regime the entire time. Like the CTU, the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the Oakland Education Association (OEA) and other unions have betrayed strikes, collaborated in the attacks on teachers and public education, and colluded in the murderous back-to-school policy. I was just a teacher whose school had been threatened with closure, and I was surrounded by educators in similar situations who were fed up with conditions in CPS. Sharkey said Wednesday that lively debate within the union speaks to its democratic spirit and called pushback after the school shutdown in January a mainstream media backlash.. Hes already the boss. He also noted last years move by the state legislature to phase in an elected school board in Chicago a shift for which the union lobbied aggressively and which Lightfoot vocally opposed. Jesse Lee Sofferthe talent behind Chicago P.D.'s former Det. At least they're more upfront about their socialism in Chicago, where teacher union president Jesse Sharkey was a leading member of the revolutionary International Socialist Organization until the group's dissolution earlier this year. The actor, 38, sat down with Variety reporters for a . Ald. Watch David Norths remarks commemorating 25 years of the World Socialist Web Site and donate today. Union leadership expressed dissatisfaction with Mayor Lori Lightfoot's earlier refusal to add ten paid teaching days . She moved to central Maine in 1970, where she raised her son, Jesse, farmed and ran a small letterpress, and worked as a visiting poet in Maine schools. Im sure others will say that cant be done, yet isnt that what you pay lawyers for? I will do so with fondness for my time in leadership, because I had the joy and privilege of representing educators who care.I am confident in the future of our union because I know the human quality of our members - how much love they bring to this profession and their schools every day, and how much they value the humanity of our students and school communities.I thank them for electing me to lead, and for everything they have given to me, the labor movement, our school communities, our union and our city. But I am. He will return to the classroom as an educator. have the opportunity Sharkey stressed the standoff had nothing to do with his decision to step down. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. What the unionistas dont get or refuse to acknowledge is that the rich already pay their fair share and then some. If you value Chalkbeat, consider making a donation. Puerto Rico has had 127,000 people contract COVID-19 and 1,200 deaths. We are part of a movement, and as an educator at heart, I view myself as a leader in that movement. Feb 02 2022 Feb 02 2022. In addition to poolside selfies from her Caribbean vacation, Chambers posted messages about the restaurant meals she was looking forward to in Old San Juan, the tourist section of the impoverished islands capital. Under these conditions, there is immense opposition among educators and parents to the deadly reopening policy. Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey speaks at Uplift Community High School in the Uptown neighborhood on January 12, 2021. Lifes a beach under the basket for Lemonts Miles Beachum. Chicago Teachers Union affiliations include the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL), the Illinois State Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (ISFL-CIO), the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). This is despite a citywide infection rate of over 10 percent. He served as the unions top leader multiple times while Lewis dealt with health struggles, and was elected to the presidency in 2019. Elections for the CTU president and other elected union leadership are coming up in May. Our union mourns the passing of President Sharkeys mother, Lee Sharkey, Main Writers & Publishers Alliances scholarship fund, Evaluation of New District Teachers Without Tenure. Davis Gates, who taught in one of those shuttered buildings, said union members were demoralized in the closures aftermath. 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