In December, the Chicago Teachers Union reached a significant tentative agreement emphasizing climate and environmental justice within public schools, addressing demands for healthier, green school environments. Ratified in April, this agreement includes substantial salary increases and reduced class sizes. The union collaborated with environmental groups to advocate for cleaner schools, which are predominantly located in underfunded areas mostly affecting Black and Latino communities. The contract aims to create job pathways in green industries, enhance climate education, and fund essential repairs and resources for schools, reflecting a pivotal step towards environmental justice in education.
Our new contract language will create pathways to green jobs for high school students, increase resources to teach about climate issues, and open the door to toxin removal, green building upgrades, and better school lunches.
This breakthrough is a collaboration between teachers and environmental activists to expose urgent problems facing us and our students - and link those problems to larger struggles.
Collection
[
|
...
]