The Service Employees International Union State Council, which represents 160,000 workers in Illinois, declared in a resolution that it is “under attack” from the Chicago Teachers Union and condemned a contract proposal by the teachers union that SEIU said would take jobs from their union and give them to CTU.
The teachers union has been negotiating its contract with Chicago Public Schools since April, and as part of its proposals has pitched language that SEIU 73 said would allow certain classroom assistants who are CTU members to do work that is currently done by special education classroom assistants. Special education classroom assistants are represented by SEIU 73, not CTU.
The roles are similar but there are differences in the job descriptions. Special education classroom assistants provide one-on-one tutoring and personal hygiene to students with visual and hearing impairments, learning disabilities and behavior disorders. Teacher assistants, in contrast, provide tutoring under the supervision of the classroom teacher.
SEIU previously threatened to sue CPS if the district agreed to CTU’s proposed contract language. The Tribune first reported on the union conflict in December.
The SEIU resolution, passed by the State Council’s board Wednesday, declares that SEIU 73, the local representing the special education classroom assistants, is “under attack.”
“The SEIU Illinois State Council stands in solidarity with them as they fight to protect the vital work performed by SECA’s in Chicago Public Schools,” the resolution said.
The State Council’s delegate board “will take protective measures to safeguard their membership and collective bargaining rights,” the resolution said.
CTU said in a statement that both unions have a common goal “to provide the best public education for our students, their families and the entire educational community in Chicago.”
“Although we may have differing interpretations of specific policies, CTU stands united with SEIU and anyone else committed to supporting our most vulnerable students across the city’s school buildings, ensuring they receive the resources necessary to grow and thrive,” the teachers union said.
The SEIU resolution is a significant escalation in a major conflict between SEIU and CTU that is remarkable in part because the unions previously worked closely together.
SEIU 73 President Dian Palmer worked with other labor leaders, including CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, to help elect Brandon Johnson as mayor, and they have been close allies during labor disputes with the district. CTU and SEIU are more progressive than some of their trade union counterparts in the labor movement, and any split between them has the potential to split Chicago’s political left.
In a statement, Palmer said her union would not allow CTU to “negotiate away the work of the SECAs we represent, weaken our collective bargaining agreement, or jeopardize the well-being of the special education students our members serve every day.”
She said the union has fought “tirelessly” to secure job protections for SECAs, such as limits on when they can be assigned other duties, guaranteed access to Individualized Education Program meetings and mandatory training for new hires.
“These safeguards are essential to ensuring SECAs can effectively support special education students in CPS,” Palmer said.
SEIU State Council President Greg Kelley said the union is “unified in our commitment to standing with our sister local SEIU 73 as they continue to fight to protect their members.”
The escalation of the conflict puts the Chicago Federation of Labor, to which both unions belong, in a tough spot.
CFL President Bob Reiter said the federation does not typically comment on disputes between affiliate unions.
Both SEIU and CTU are also affiliates of the AFL-CIO, which the service employees union rejoined just last month. In an announcement at the time, SEIU said it was joining the massive national labor federation to “build unprecedented worker power” and “win unions for all workers.”
The AFL-CIO’s constitution prohibits affiliate unions from member raids. “Each affiliate shall refrain from raiding the established bargaining relationship of any other affiliate,” its constitution reads.
The SEIU resolution stops just short of directly calling CTU’s actions a “raid.” Every SEIU local should “stand together” in the face of “an attack from an outside entity, whether by a raid or any existential threat to the workers represented by the ISC,” the resolution reads.
SEIU 73 Executive Vice President Stacia Scott said the union considered CTU’s actions a raid in a December interview with Chicago Public Media. “And if you dress it up pretty, at the end of the day, it’s still a raid,” she said.