Stewart getting $90,000 + for part-time IFT job
Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart was signed to a part-time job paying more than $90,000 per year as secretary treasurer of the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) as soon as the Chicago Teachers Union announced her re-election to a second term as president of the Chicago Teachers Union. The benefits she will be receiving from the IFT are also greater than those she has negotiated for her full-time dues paying members.
February 23, 2008. Above: CTU President Marilyn Stewart refused to lead major protests against the attacks on 19 schools during February 2008, but then tried to blame the union’s members for not attending a PUSH meeting that was supposed to frighten Arne Duncan into rescinding the proposed cuts at the Board of Education meeting the following week. Stewart had sealed the fate of the schools — and many to come — by failing to negotiate protections in the contract she negotiated the previous August. But Stewart did well for herself. Schmidt photo.
Stewart was re-elected President of the Chicago Teachers Union on Friday, May 18, 2007.
On May 19, 2007, officials of the IFT signed an agreement with Stewart to pay her for part-time work as secretary-treasurer of the IFT. The terms of the contract state that her services to the IFT are to begin on July 1, 2007 and extend through December 31, 2010 (a half year beyond Stewart’s term as CTU president). According to the IFT contract, Stewart was paid a pro-rated amount of the contract for the first six months (July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007) and is being paid in full for each year since.
The contract extends through December 31, 2010, seven months after the next Chicago Teachers Union election (which is to be held in May 2010).
Stewart’s contract pays her a salary of $89,000 per year for 2007. The pro-rated amount means she has been paid $44,500 for part-time work for the state union during 2007. New teachers in Chicago working under the contract Stewart negotiated for her members in August 2007 are paid less than what Stewart was paid for part-time work for six months’ work in 2007. In addition to her salary, Stewart will be paid 25 percent of the salary as a “pension contribution.” The contract states that Stewart’s work is “part time.” At the same time, she is being paid travel expenses and insurance.
“The salary and benefits stated in this agreement are based on Stewart acting as a part-time employee of the Illinois Federation of Teachers working on the affairs of the Illinois Federation of Teachers,” the contract states. “This contract, and the salary and benefits stated in this agreement shall remain in effect until Stewart is no longer Secretary-Treasurer, or this work year provision is modified to more than part-time work, or December 31, 2010, whichever comes first.”
The next election in the Chicago Teachers Union takes place in May 2010. The contract means that Stewart will retain employment with the state teachers’ union whether or not she wins another term as president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
Some of Stewart’s pay and benefits are pegged to the staff contracts of the staff of the IFT. These contracts were not in the possession of Substance at press time.
Stewart makes more part-time than her members working full-time
Stewart’s part-time work pays more than teachers she represents are being paid under the contract she negotiated for teacher members during the four months after he re-election as CTU president.
This school year, Chicago teachers are paying annual dues of $870 to the Chicago Teachers Union. This money pays for Stewart’s pay and benefits as President of the Chicago Teachers Union. The per capita dues from CTU members going to the IFT will pay for Stewart’s part-time salary at the IFT. The following are the salary figures for Stewart’s contract for each year of the contract:
Stewart’s IFT contract for part-time work:
January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. $91,670
January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. $94,420
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. $97,253
Under the contract that Stewart negotiated for the union’s members, starting teachers with a BA degree are paid half as much working full-time as Stewart is being paid at her part-time job. Under Stewart’s contract, the pay for staring teachers is:
Starting Chicago teachers’ pay for full-time work:
July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. $44,963.
July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. $46,761.
July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. $48,362.
Stewart’s part-time work for the IFT will pay her even more than the highest-paid Chicago teachers will be paid between now and 2010. Very few Chicago teachers ever get a doctorate and remain in the classroom, so the highest paid actual teachers are those with many years’ service and an MA degree plus 45 hours beyond the MA. Under the contract that Stewart negotiated for the union’s members, teachers with a MA degree and 45 additional hours (the highest paid regular classroom teachers) will be paid:
Highest Chicago teachers’ pay for full-time work:
July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. $80,770.
July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. $85,071.
July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. $88,474.
PSRPs working under the contract Stewart negotiated for her members will be receiving much less. Many teacher assistants will spend three years trying to earn working full-time what Stewart is being paid by the IFT for working part-time.
The amount of money to be paid into the “pension” will range from $20,000 to nearly $25,000 per year. Although the Illinois Federation of Teachers has to date failed to answer questions about the contract, or the reason for its extension beyond the term Stewart has as President of the Chicago Teachers Union.
Other benefits Stewart is receiving from the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers are not known at this time.
Stewart and her publicist continue to refuse to discuss these matters when contacted by Substance’s editor about various pending stories. This story was one this month that she refused to discuss with Substance.
