Chicago Teachers Union elects new president

CHICAGO — Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates was elected president of the union Friday following a monthslong, hard-fought battle against two challengers to succeed outgoing president Jesse Sharkey.

Friday’s election results show the strength of Davis Gates’ Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators, which has been criticized in recent months for mishandling the union’s response to the winter surge in COVID-19 cases and not being transparent enough about union finances.

CORE won by gaining the support of 56% of union members who voted — avoiding a potential June runoff by nabbing an outright majority. The challenging slates of Members First and REAL garnered 27% and 17% of the vote, respectively, according to results announced by CTU early Saturday morning.

CTU has about 25,000 members.

The race was unusually vicious. Members seemed more divided than ever following the union’s move to refuse in-person work during the January omicron surge and the decision to return to classrooms days later after inking a COVID-19 safety agreement that union leaders say Chicago Public Schools has not upheld.

The REAL Caucus was formed out of discontent with January’s work stoppage. Members First, meanwhile, was created years ago by members calling for more transparency in union activity. Led by Sharkey, CORE easily defeated Members First in the last election, in 2019, with about two-thirds of the vote.

Sharkey announced in February he will step down when his term is up at the end of June. He threw his support behind Davis Gates, a former high school history teacher and CTU political director. Davis Gates has been a vocal proponent of more COVID-19 safety measures, more protections for CPS’ most vulnerable students and more mental health resources for all students as the pandemic continues.

Davis Gates now stands to lead one of Chicago’s most powerful unions through negotiations of a new contract; the transition to an elected school board and a relentless pandemic. The last contract negotiation resulted in a two-week strike by the union in 2019.

Officers are set to begin their three-year term on July 1. The union also voted in Jackson Potter as vice president, Maria Moreno as financial secretary and Christel Williams-Hayes as recording secretary, all CORE slate members.

The CORE slate rose to power in 2010 with the late Karen Lewis as president. Under CORE’s leadership, the union also went on strike in 2012.

CTU’s relationship with Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been strained from the start. The union backed her opponent, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, in the 2019 election, and then the strike happened just months later.

The COVID-19 pandemic arrived a short time later and only worsened the strain, as Lightfoot’s and CPS’ plans for reopening schools were delayed several times by union resistance. CTU won the right to bargain over the terms of teachers’ return and twice took formal action to refuse to teach in-person classes as it fought for more safety protections for staff and students.

Members First released a statement Saturday thanking its supporters. “The election results did not turn out the way we had hoped. However, we stood up and fought for what we believed in.”

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