Regardless of whether there’s a strike on October 17 as is currently promised, the current contract fight of Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), alongside the fight of over 5,000 CPS workers represented by SEIU Local 73, including special education classroom assistants, custodians, bus aides, and security officers, is a milestone for the CTU, teacher union reform, and for public education in the United States. As the union’s president Jesse Sharkey puts it, “we mean to improve conditions in our schools,” and are making those demands alongside another union, of mostly low-wage workers of color.

CTU members, a vast majority of whom are teachers, are demanding smaller class sizes and pay increases for CTU members who are paraprofessionals, as well as hiring more librarians, social workers, and nurses — as regular employees rather than agency temps. While CTU’s contract proposals may seem minor to those outside education, they go to the heart of improving what happens in classrooms with kids.

The union is battling for power about how and what students learn, for example in having elementary school teachers control use of the contractually mandated time for preparation at the start of the day, and protecting the most vulnerable students, those who require special education services, by specifying ratios for allocating case managers to schools and making sure aides are available to help students who need individual assistance.