Local
Chicago City Colleges union, district strike deal includes inflation-linked pay and AI safeguards
City Colleges of Chicago and the Cook County College Teachers Union reached a tentative four-year contract at 3:45 a.m. Monday, hours before a planned strike. Members must ratify the deal before it goes to the district’s Board of Trustees.
City Colleges of Chicago and the Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600, reached a tentative four-year contract agreement at 3:45 a.m. Monday, averting a strike that was due to begin later that day.
The union said the proposed agreement includes salaries intended to keep pace with inflation, protections for health insurance, safeguards related to artificial intelligence and a path toward free developmental education. The available details did not specify wage increases or explain how the AI provisions would work.
Union President Tony Johnston said the agreement supports students, faculty and professional staff, while criticizing the timing of the negotiations. “It should not have taken until 3:45 a.m. the day of a strike to get here,” he said.
The contract is not final. Union members must vote on ratification; if they approve it, the agreement will then go to the City Colleges Board of Trustees for consideration. The deal keeps classes and other college operations from facing an immediate disruption, but its terms remain subject to those approval steps.