SUBSCRIPT: Chicago Public Schools lawyer refers to substancenews.net as an 'affiliate' website of the Chicago Teachers Union
One of the more interesting things to come out of the current battle between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools regarding the attempt by CPS to force teachers into signing off on a waiver of their contractual rights regarding the longer school day came out in part of the response of CPS to the CTU Unfair Labor Practice complaint.
James Franczek, the outside counsel for CPS, wrote as follows:
"With regard to notice to the CTU, all materials related to the waivers were given to the
Union delegates at each school. In addition, the CTU clearly had prior notice as evidenced by,
among other actions, the grievance it filed on August 30, its postings on the Union website and
its affiliate website, Substance News, and the actions and presence of its representatives prior to
the vote."
By: Jay Rehak
Substance is hardly a CTU affilliate website and Mr. Franczek knows it.
I am surprised and a bit disappointed in James Franczek's characaterization of Substance as an affiliate of the CTU. I have known Mr. Franczek for many years, and know him to be a shrewd negotiator and keen observer of the world at large.
Unless he is slipping, I find it hard to believe he would characterize Substance as an affiliate of any organization. Anyone who has read Substance over the years knows that its pointed attacks are not limited to CPS folly alone.
Perhaps Mr. Franczek, who negotiated the CTU-CPS deal in 2007, which included 4 percent raises for five consecutive years, is now flailing at anyone he can, in an attempt to misdirect the issue away from the contract itself.
In the end, Mr. Franczek was and is the main architect of the current contract that CPS is so blatantly disregarding. He, more than anyone in the City of Chicago, is keenly aware of the fact that back in 2007, he believed he had struck a more than fair deal for the City of Chicago. In his heart, he has to know that the real issue is this: CPS has a contractual obligation it is not honoring. PERIOD. All else is noise and misdirection.