Copyright NBC 5 Chicago
Teachers across Illinois now have a new labor leader after the president of the Chicago Teachers Union was selected to also lead the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Stacy Davis Gates was previously the vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, a statewide organization made up of more than 200 local unions throughout Illinois. It represents more than 100,000 teachers, college faculty and public employees across the state. On Saturday, Davis Gates was unanimously elected as the next leader of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. The move represents a big change for the IFT, as outgoing President Dan Montgomery held the leadership role for 15 years. “Stacy is dynamic. She is value driven. She’s very passionate. She’s got a deep intellectual history," said Bob Bruno, a professor and the director of the Labor Education Program at the University of Illinois. “I think they’re going to find that the IFT under Stacy is going to be a very formidable body.” Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie said the leadership change is "bad news for Illinois students." McCombie released a statement, saying in part: "Gates is a left-wing radical who runs Local 1 like a corrupt political machine instead of a force for student achievement and educational excellence." As the president of CTU, Davis Gates makes nearly $200,000 annually, in addition to the $78,000 annually she received as vice president of the IFT. Montgomery earned nearly $280,000 annually as president. A spokeswoman for Davis Gates said she is taking “a substantial reduction” from what Montgomery earned but would not disclose her new salary. While Davis Gates has ample experience as a negotiator as head of a major union, some are cautioning her that the state and local unions have different expectations and priorities. “I really hope that she understands that many of these other districts and a huge majority of the state operates very, very differently than Chicago does," said Jennifer Custer, a current member of the Chicago Board of Education, as well as former educator and suburban union president. “Her strategies of attacking elected officials, attacking our governor, having choice words for them, is going to really damaging when she represents 200 other school districts outside of the city of Chicago.” Bruno believes Davis Gates will focus on collaboration in her new role. "You don’t get to be the president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers if you don’t know how to work collaboratively with people, solve problems, look for consensus, while at the same time, holding really true to a set of values," he said. The IFT has been traditionally more moderate than CTU politically. While Illinois Democratic leaders have offered Gates congratulations on her new election, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was less enthusiastic. "Whoever they elect to represent them, I’m going to sit down -- when we need to. We’ll talk," he said.
