No Money

But the teachers want to be at the front of the line:

• Chicago Public Schools is so cash-strapped that its new interim CEO and board president are scrambling to find a way to send out back pay owed to teachers and staff that was negotiated in the Chicago Teachers Union contract, which was settled in March.

  The CTU won 4% raises plus additional salary increases for experience and advanced degrees. Because the old contract expired last June, the raises cover a whole school year and will cost the district more than $100 million. Teachers and staff are expecting CPS to deliver that retroactive pay this summer.

The firefighters have been without a Contract for how long? Four years?

If we recall, CPD supervisors have a court ordered settlement for VRI overtime running back to the very beginning of that program AND a "me-too" raise that the City refuses to pay while the back pay accrues interest.

And the FLSA OT, too.

But since the teachers can hold the children hostage, have the ability to strike and own Conehead, they think they deserve to be up at the front of that line. It's far past time to legislate teachers statewide as "essential."