Take the deal, teachers. You’ve won

They should accept the latest contract offer from the Board of Education, a sweet deal that most Chicagoans would just love to get.

They should vote against authorizing a strike. Given our city’s dire financial condition, taxpayers wouldn’t rally around them.

And let’s not forget the 296,752 schoolchildren who’d be sitting at home learning nothing if the teachers walk out.

What employee, in any job, would turn down a 16% raise over five years?

That’s a locked-in raise every year of 3% to 3.5%, more than what most workers are getting — if they’re getting raises at all.

Then add in the pay hikes to which teachers would be entitled based on seniority and level of education. With those “step” and “lane” raises, the average teacher would pull in almost $100,000 a year — up from about $79,000 now — by the end of the five-year contract.

But don’t stop there. Consider, as well, how little more teachers will be asked to contribute to their health care. Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s negotiating team is asking CTU members to pay a modest 0.75% more over the entire five years.

In the rest of working America, health care premiums rose an average of 3% to 5% in 2018, up from 3% in 2017, according to the annual Kaiser Employer Survey.

The city’s contract offer to the CTU, which aligns with the recommendations of an independent fact-finder, is more than entirely fair. It is, in fact, generous. Given Chicago’s fiscal straits, it would be irresponsible for the mayor or school board to offer more.

As it is, Chicagoans — the folks who will have to pay those generous raises — already are bracing for higher property taxes to help close an $838 million municipal budget gap.

Equally important, CPS has only recently begun to shore up its own miserable finances. Just a couple of years ago, there was serious talk that the district should declare bankruptcy.

CPS has made at least modest financial progress since then.

If we care about the long-term quality of our city’s schools, we cannot turn back.

The CTU insists that this contract negotiation is not about just money. The union also is insisting on, among other demands, smaller class sizes, more bilingual teachers and more support personnel such as social workers, librarians and nurses.

We get that. We write editorials about the need to employ more support staff, especially social workers. They are of particular importance in low-income schools, where children often come to class traumatized by poverty and crime.

But here’s the thing: The mayor wants that, too.

And CPS already has pledged to hire 200 more social workers and 250 nurses in the coming years.

The union wants that in writing, but let’s be blunt: No manager worth his or her salt can agree to write everything — especially matters well beyond salaries and benefits — into a union contract. They have competing responsibilities, such as holding the line on taxes. There has to be flexibility, an ability to respond to unforeseen circumstances. Managers must be able to manage.

If Lightfoot and the school board fall short on their promises, you can bet they’ll hear about it. It’s an excellent way to get voted out of office.

Seven years ago, CTU cast then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel as the villain in a contract negotiation that resulted in the first strike in 25 years. The union was particularly furious with Emanuel for reneging on a previously negotiated pay hike.

This time around, though, the union and the mayor are largely aligned when it comes to their educational agendas. Both sides believe in putting neighborhood schools first. Both oppose large-scale school closings and non-unionized charter schools.

Lightfoot has kept CEO Janice Jackson, a respected educator, at the helm of CPS. She has appointed community-minded members to the school board. She supports the concept of an elected board. And her administration has beefed up funding to neighborhood schools, which languished for years while selective schools and charters received more than a fair share of funding.

But let’s get back to basics. The strike authorization vote is happening right now. The union needs at least 75% of teachers to vote in favor of a walkout before a strike date can be set.

The average Chicago teacher salary, as we said, is now $79,000 a year, and in five years — if the teachers take the current offer — it will be almost six figures.

That’s a terrific deal, and good for public education. We’re all for teachers getting a good day’s pay for a good day’s work.

With a deal like this on the table, the union is going to have a hard time explaining to the rest of Chicago why teachers might strike.

If they’re looking for sympathy, we predict they won’t find much.

Take the deal, CTU.

You’ve already won, lucky you.

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