Chicago Teachers Union records, ca.1870-2017, bulk 1930-2015

For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available). Advance appointment required to view color photographs in cold storage.

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Materials were a gift of the Chicago Teachers Union (accession #: 1973.0019, 1989.0505, 1993.0001, 2016.0067).

Seven volumes of scrapbooks in Series 2, subseries 4, are available on microfilm.

Chicago Teachers Union records (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

The records of the Chicago Teachers Union are primarily textual and include meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, reports, financial information, contracts, publications, clippings, flyers, scrapbooks, materials for mass distribution, and general office files created by the CTU, the Men’s Teachers Union, the Federation of Women High School Teachers, the Joint Board of Teachers’ Unions and the American Federation of Teachers.

Subjects covered include teacher unionization, the careers of superintendents William H. Johnson and Benjamin C. Willis, education in Chicago, factionalism within the American Federation of Teachers, particularly alleged communist activity within the AFT, teacher certification, retirement and pension, charter schools, school turnarounds and closings, education reform initiatives such as Renaissance 2010, strike actions (including 1969, 1984, 1987, and 2012), education initiatives, professional development and the Quest Center, contracts with Board of Education, and union constitution and bylaws.

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Local 1 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), had its beginnings with the establishment of the Chicago Teachers Federation (CTF) in 1897. In 1902 CTF received a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) as a federal labor union. Composed mainly of high school teachers, the Men’s Teachers Union was founded in 1912. Two years later the Federation of Women High School Teachers was established. In 1916 these three bodies, along with four other non-Chicago teacher groups, successfully petitioned the AFL to charter a new national labor organization, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The CTF became AFT Local 1, the Men’s group became AFT Local 2, and the Women’s Federation was chartered as AFT Local 3.

During the 1920s, the Men’s Union and the Women’s Federation jointly organized four other groups of Board employees into unions: the elementary school teachers (AFT Local 199), the playground teachers (AFT Local 209), the school clerks (AFT Local 224), and the truant officers. These six groups coordinated activities through the Joint Board of Teachers Unions.

On October 28, 1937, the four AFT charters were formally surrendered and the AFT issued a single charter for the new Chicago Teachers Union, AFT Local 1. In the 1960s, the CTU began including a number of non-teacher’s groups employed by the Board of Education, and secured collective bargaining in 1966. Since its inception, the CTU has advocated on issues such as working and learning conditions; member pay, benefits and job security; evaluation-based merit pay for teachers; and school closures and privatization.

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Chicago Teachers' Federation records, the Joe Jacobs papers, the Lillian Herstein papers, the Cyrus Hall Adams, III, papers, the Thales Kaster papers, the Citizens Schools Committee records, the Chicago Federation of Labor records, and the Photographs and printed materials related to the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union Strike (2013.0087 PCFF).

The 1973.0019, 1989.0505, and 1993.0001 accessions were partially processed and a draft inventory created by CHM staff at an unknown earlier date; the 2016 accession was integrated into the existing collection and processing completed for the earlier materials in 2017.

• Subject
  • Charter schools -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Collective bargaining -- Education
  • Educational change -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Elementary school teachers -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 19th century
  • Elementary school teachers -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
  • High school teachers -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 19th century
  • High school teachers -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
  • Labor unions -- Officials and employees -- Education
  • Labor unions and communism -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Public schools -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 19th century
  • Public schools -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
  • School closings -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Schools -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 19th century
  • Schools -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
  • Strikes and lockouts -- Teachers -- Illinois -- Chicagoy
  • Teachers -- Certification -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Teachers' unions -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 19th century
  • Teachers' unions -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
• Names
  • Fewkes, John M.
  • Johnson, William H. -- 1895-
  • Stewart, Marilyn
  • Vaughn, Jacqueline
  • Willis, Benjamin C.
  • American Federation of Teachers
  • Chicago Federation of Men Teachers
  • Chicago Teachers' Federation
  • Chicago Teachers Union -- Archives
  • Chicago Teachers Union -- Quest Center
  • Chicago (Ill.). Board of Education
  • Chicago (Ill.). Board of Education -- Compulsory and Voluntary Retirement Fund
  • Chicago Public Schools
  • Federation of Women High School Teachers (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Elementary Teachers Union (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Playground Teachers Union (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Joint Board of Teachers Unions (Chicago, Ill.)
  • School Clerks' Union (Chicago, Ill.)
• Geographic Coverage
  • Chicago (Ill.) -- Politics and government -- 19th century
  • Chicago (Ill.) -- Politics and government -- 20th century

The collection is arranged in three series and fourteen subseries.

Series 1. Predecessor Organizations, 1914-1948 (box 1-6)

Series 1 contains the papers created by two of the four AFT locals which merged in 1937 to form the CTU as well as the records of the Joint Board of Teachers’ Unions. The series is divided into three subseries.

Subseries 1. Joint Board of Teachers’ Unions, 1931-1937 (box 1)

Subseries 1 contains the records of the Joint Board of Teachers’ Unions. Documentation of this group is very limited, covering only a few years, 1931-1937, without overall consistency. There are scattered minutes, a few financial reports and a small body of correspondence.

Subseries 2. Federation of Men Teachers, 1916-1948 (box 1-3)

Subseries 2 consists of the records of the Federation of Men Teachers. They range from 1916 to 1948, with material dated after 1938 being items created by the CTU in closing out the records of the Men’s group or material sent to the group by individuals unaware of its merger into the CTU. A complete set of minutes from 1921-37 is available as well as a small, but usually informative office file consisting mostly of correspondence.

Subseries 3. Federation of Women High School Teachers, 1914-1937 (box 3-6)

Subseries 3 contains the papers of the Federation of Women High School Teachers, from the group’s founding in 1914 until its merger with CTU in 1937. The subseries contains the group’s minutes from 1914 until 1937, a fairly extensive office file of correspondence, reports, financial statements and handbills, and a “mimeograph file,” containing material prepared for distribution to the entire membership.

Series 2. Chicago Teachers Union, 1870-2017 (box 6-92, 103-165, oversize folder 1, PCLF folder 1)

Series 2 is made up of the papers of the Chicago Teachers Union, AFT Local 1. Most of the material dates from the mid-1930s to 2016, although a few items generated by either the school board or individual CTU members prior to 1935 are also found in the series. The series consists of eight subseries.

Subseries 1. American Federation of Teachers, 1918-2017 (box 6-13, oversize folder 1)

Subseries 1 contains material collected by the CTU about its parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers. Because CTU was influential within the AFT and a leader of the national union’s anti-Communist caucus, this subseries is rich in factional material, particularly of other locals (such as Local 5 in New York City) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Additional disputes related to various AFT conventions in the 1930s, the search for a new secretary-treasurer for the AFT in 1936-37, and the firing of secretary-treasurer Irvin R. Kuenzli in 1951. The series is arranged alphabetically by topic.

Subseries 2. General office files, 1870-2017 (box 13-41, 103-105, 111, 155-162, 164, PCLF folder 1)

Subseries 2 consists of the general office file of the CTU dating from the mid 1930s to 2016. This subseries is broad in scope and topics including: press releases, school finances, teacher certification, correspondence, proceedings of various functional groups, Illinois State Federation of Teachers, Illinois Education Association, meeting minutes, retirement and pension, charter schools, school turnaround and closings, various policies, education reform initiatives such as Renaissance 2010, strike actions, education initiatives, constitution and bylaws, flyers, material for mass distribution, and individuals such as the superintendents of schools William Johnson, Benjamin C. Willis, and W.J. Bogan, can be found within the series. From boxes 13-41, the series is arranged alphabetically by topic. The 2017 accrual attempted to keep items in their original order.

Subseries 3. Chicago Teachers Union committees, 1931-2009 (box 42-66 and 155)

Subseries 3 is made up of the papers generated by numerous CTU committees, with the Education, Legislative, Negotiating, and Social Committees forming the bulk of the subseries. The papers of the Negotiating Committee are particularly insightful regarding union collective bargaining objectives and practices throughout the 1960s including the 1969 teacher strike. The series is arranged alphabetically by committee name, and chronologically within each committee. The 2017 accrual attempted to keep items in their original order.

Subseries 4. Newspaper Clippings and Scrapbooks, 1927-1966 (box 67-92, volumes 1-7)

Subseries 4 consists of a newspaper clipping file maintained by a special committee of the CTU. The clippings are primarily from Chicago newspapers and cover a wide spectrum of issues affecting teachers, such as education in general, specific educational issues in Chicago, the Board of Education, and local politics. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

Subseries 5. Publications, 1943-2017 (box 115-129)

Subseries 5 consists of publications produced and, in some cases, collected by the CTU. These include World War II-era news bulletins, the monthly Chicago Union Teacher magazine (1947-2016), calendars (1961-2017), various histories of the union and papers focusing on specific events including the 2012 strike and 2013 school closings.

Subseries 6. Executive Board, House of Delegates, House of Representatives, and Field Representatives, 1918-2013 (box 24, 109-110, 130-155, 163-164)

Subseries 6 consists of records generated by and for the House of Delegates (1975-1986, 2007-2009), Executive Board (1944-1948, 2007-2009), House of Representatives (1938-1969, 1974-1975), and Field Representatives (2004-2009). The bulk of the records are meeting agendas and minutes, although Delegate Handbooks (2005-2009), information packs, and mobilization kits also are included. Some related material may be found in Subseries 3.

Subseries 7. Contracts, 1967-2015 (box 112-115)

Subseries 7 contains contracts between the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the Chicago Teachers Union (1967-2015). This series is arranged chronologically.

Subseries 8. Marilyn Stewart, 2003-2010 (box 106-108)

Subseries 8 contains records from the office of Marilyn Stewart, CTU President 2004-2010, including: meeting agendas from the Executive Board, Executive Committee, House of Delegates, Field Representatives, and the Chicago Board of Education. In addition to correspondence, other materials relate to topics such as teacher retirement and pensions, charter schools, political outreach, Chicago Public School budget, and various education initiatives. Materials pertaining to the American Federation of Teachers and Illinois Federation of Teachers are also included.

Subseries 9. Audio recordings (box 165)

Subseries 9 contains audio recordings of interviews with John Fewkes, as well as other members and programs.

Series 3. School Clerks’ Union (AFT Local 224), 1929-1987 (box 93-102, 161)

Series 3 contains the records of the School Clerks’ Union from the beginning of the union in the 1920s through 1967 when it surrendered its charter to become a part of Local 1. The series is divided into two subseries.

Subseries 1. General office file, 1929-1967 (box 93-98)

Subseries 1 consists of the general office files of the School Clerks’ Union. It dates primarily from the late 1950s and 1960s and is made up of routine documents created in the day-to-day administration of the local. The subseries is arranged alphabetically.

Subseries 2. Financial documents, 1931-1987 (box 99-102, 161)

Subseries 2 consists of Local 224’s financial documents. It, like subseries 1, contains routine operating data, although it is highlighted by a great deal of information regarding membership.