ProActive Chicago Teachers and School Employees

PACT Newsletter:  May 2008

Where Did Our $5 Million Go?   Right Into Their Pockets!  As we reported last month, the net CTU assets of $5.6 million we inherited in 2001, and left in 2004, disappeared over the last 4 years of the Stewart administration.  This bankruptcy of our union is compounded by millions of dollars in secret loans the Stewart team has actually lied to the House about.  Even with very serious the loss of membership due to Ren 2010, CTU revenues have continued to increase each year due to tying dues to the salary schedule and raises.   Stewart’s claims that current problems are left-over from the Lynch team are simply not true.  Check out the audits and budgets for the last several years on our website and see for yourself.   We had surpluses for our first 2 years, which balanced out the overspending of the third year when there were 2 contract votes and two elections.  The audit for our last year showed  $5.6 million net assets, the same as when we took over, after allowing for the contract and election costs.

Now comes the evidence of where our $5 million+ has disappeared: into the pockets of Stewart's team of officers and staff members.  Here are just a few of the highlights of the contract Stewart negotiated with the Field Reps, which the officers then give themselves, for Year 1 of their 4 year contract: 

 

* Base salaries averaging $112,000                                                                         $112,000

* Additional pensionable annuity compensation @22% of base salary                              24,000

* Pensionable expense account compensation                                                           11,000                                                      

* Pensionable Holiday Bonus of one week's pay                                                           2,200    

* Cellphone allowance                                                                                             2,100                                                                          

* Grand Annual Total Per Person (for 35 people & a reduced amount for 16 clericals)    $151,300

 

Source:  Agreement between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Professional Staff Employees of the CTU, 2007-2001; to view entire document, including their 4 years of salary schedules, go to www.ProActiveChicagoTeachers.com

 

The Lynch team discontinued the UPC practices of secret annuity compensation payments. We did not allow Holiday bonuses, or allow (significantly smaller) car allowances to be pensionable, or severance payments either.  Their contracts top out at $175,000 in the final year, annual increases of $4-5,000.  Our motto was that if it was good enough for the members, it should be good enough for the officers and staff, and any member could view our contracts at any time.  Compare this budget to four years ago (see the PACT website for copies of the budgets for last four years).  The additional costs for annuities and pensionable expense accounts is over $1  million more per year, than under Lynch/PACT.  This explains where most of our $5 million went--to them, not to the members.  Add another $100,000 to the yearly salary and perks of Ms. Stewart for the IFT position she gave herself, for a grand total of $250,000 of our dues money annually, and the greed, corruption, lack of accountability and absence of fiduciary responsibility is incomprehensible.   Our CTU Constitution requires the House to approve any multi-year contracts, yet the Stewart team has refused to even show delegates these contracts, not to mention have the House approve them.

 

What will be equally incomprehensible will be if the House of Delegates allows this travesty to continue by not demanding answers from this team and their auditor:  How in debt is the CTU?  Who authorized these perks?  Why do we need $250,000 for "overtime and extra help"?  Why haven't these multi-year contracts been brought to the House?  How many loans have been obtained and for what amounts?  How can these contracts be valid when the House did not approve them?  Why do the officers believe they should get a better deal than the one their negotiated for the members?  Why won't they reveal these contracts?  Why haven't we seen the AFT Audit which Stewart has had for months now?  What else is she/are they hiding?  Why can't our Treasurer be trusted to sign checks?  Are pensionable car allowances even legal?  Is it true that there have been illegal loans of CTU dues money to members of the Stewart team?  What are the legal issues of our union's financial situation?