[tptacek]

CPS teachers are not in fact paid more than every other school system; NYC and LA pay more on average, and if you adjust for cost of living, Cleveland is a better deal. Meanwhile: the big sticking points with the CPS unions --- of which I am not a fan --- are class size and support staff, which are not pocket-lining issues for the teachers.

[kasey_junk]

The CPS unions have made lots of things negotiating positions in the last few years, from school nurses and social workers to veteran teacher pay scales and disciplinary rights. Classifying their position one way or another is impossible.

If anything the CTU has been doing everything in their power to make sure the real problem, pensions, is never on the bargaining table. They are argument #1 against public employee unions if only because they are so obviously hosing their current members on behalf of their previous and soon to be previous members.

That said your broader point still stands, there is nothing strange about their compensation or outcomes when compared to peer organizations.