CTU and Illinois Federation of Teachers president Stacy Davis Gates
CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- The Chicago Teachers Union has confirmed it's backing Brandon Johnson's bid to be re-elected as the city's mayor, signaling that it's ready to once again deploy its powerful street-level political operatives to keep the former middle school teacher and union organizer on the Fifth Floor here.
"This election is about whether Black and working families have a future in Chicago and it's a simple choice," CTU Political Action Committee Chair Kim Walls-Kirk said in a release issued Tuesday by the union.
Notably, the release does not include a quote from CTU and Illinois Federation of Teachers president Stacy Davis Gates, who is a close friend and adviser to the mayor, and who attended his re-election campaign kickoff September 13 at the DuSable Black History Museum.
Thirty-thousand people are members of CTU, which was the center of a union coalition that helped propel Johnson to the mayor's office in 2023. However, the status of that coalition is in question because of a rift between CTU and another influential public worker union, SEIU. The unions have been feuding since CTU tried to organize a group of Chicago Public School workers who are already represented by SEIU.
Mayor Johnson's fundraising has lagged challengers including Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, which means his campaign ground game will be key to helping him spread his message. SEIU has not said whether or whom it might endorse.
Status of union coalition in question going into February election
Status of union coalition in question going into February election
