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Chicago Teachers Union banking on alignment with mayor as contract talks begin

Chicago Teachers Union
Scott Heins/Getty Images

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Members of the Chicago Teachers Union kicked off contract negotiations on Tuesday morning with a trolley trip around the city and a list of demands that reach beyond the classrooms.

The teachers said they are looking for a lot more in their contract than smaller class sizes, more support staff and better pay.


Affordable housing is on their list, along with restorative justice coordinators, dual language programs, libraries, sports, music, the arts and sustainable community schools.

Union President Stacy Davis Gates addressed the media.

"We are not going to shrink in our expectation," she said. "We are not going to cower by the largeness of this job that we have before us. We are just going to organize more people to help us accomplish it."

She noted that what the union wants, the mayor — a former CTU member and organizer — wants, too.

That's what's different now, she said.

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