Chicago teachers union demands free abortions, cash for migrants and $145K salaries

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The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is negotiating a new contract with the public schools system and is understood to be calling for an extra $50 billion to pay for wage hikes as well as other demands such as fully paid abortions for its members, new migrant services and facilities and a host of LGBT-related requirements and training in schools.

To put the figure into context, the total base tax receipts for the state of Illinois last year were $50.7 billion.

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Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ audacious plan calls for members to bank at least 9% wage increases each year through fiscal year 2028.

The average salary of a teacher in Chicago Public Schools is $93,182, according to research by the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative nonprofit think tank. Therefore, the average teacher’s pay will increase by half to $144,620 in the 2027-2028 school year, it says.

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Gates’ plan also calls for teachers and counselors to be paid a stipend of $1,000 per student per semester when they are assigned a number of students above contractual limits and a retirement bonus of $2,500 for employees with more than 30 years of service.

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The leaked demands also address "disparities" in health care with 100% coverage benefits for abortion care, 100% coverage benefits for fertility, including full coverage for storage of embryos and any other frozen storage needs.

But the union also wants more taxpayers' funds to go to migrants in its far-reaching plan – earmarking $2,000 to be given to each migrant to help with academics, transportation and mental health counseling.

The union also wants each of the 646 public schools to have a "newcomer liaison" for new students as well as migrant students and unused school facilities to be converted into housing accommodation for migrants.

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There is also a whole host of other social justice provisions the union wants, including making sure workers and educators are trained annually on LGBTQ+ issues as a qualification in their job description.

The union also wants to mandate that every school in the district has at least one gender-neutral bathroom.

Additionally, it wants the board to adopt policies that would prohibit any member from being compelled to tell parents when a student rejects his or her sex.

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