Chicago Teachers Union elects Stacy Davis Gates as new president, keeping CORE slate in power
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates was elected president of the union Friday following a months-long, 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 57% of union members who voted — avoiding a potential June runoff by nabbing an outright majority. The challenging slates of Members First and REAL garnered 26% 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 CTU President Jesse 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. Officers are set to begin their three-year term on July 1.
