CORE's Prodding Forces CTU Leadership to Confront 'Hardship' Need on May 1 CPS Payroll
Extensive prodding from CORE members -- especially Carol Caref of Chicago Vocational -- forced the Chicago Teachers Union to push the CPS leadership into honoring "hardship" claims because the Board shifted worker payrolls radically in the May 1, 2009, payroll.
As previously reported, in April CPS told its workers that the May 1 payroll check would only be for one week, instead of the two weeks it was supposed to be. For weeks after the reality became clear, the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union was publicly silent about the issue, and the CTU Web site (www.ctunet.com) made no mention of it.
Intensive work via e-mail and phone by CORE members from various schools forced the issue into the realm of public debate. By two days before the paychecks were issued, CPS had announced that workers who faced hardships because of the short checks could apply for "hardship" stipends.
As of press time for this article, the data are not yet in about how many people applied for and received the hardship stipends.
