CPAA Key Wins

CPAA — Key Wins
Key Wins
Contract Negotiations
Outcomes secured to date

What one union
has already won.

Every item below is an outcome CPAA has already secured for Chicago's school leaders through the interim MOU and ongoing advocacy. The list will keep growing as CPAA bargains toward a comprehensive, first-ever collective bargaining agreement.

4%
COLA increase in each of two years
5
Professional learning days per year, minimum
3
Days of injury leave after an assault or battery
The job itself

Compensation

  • 4% COLA increase for SY24–25
  • 4% COLA increase for SY25–26

Additional compensation and benefits remain on the table in the full contract.

The job itself

Professional development

  • At least five days per school year to attend professional learning that matters to you
  • A binding CPAA role in shaping professional development, requiring mutual agreement between the CEO and the CPAA President
  • Secured time during the CPS Summer Leadership Institute for professional development and workshops
Governance

Due process & protections

  • Discipline for principals and assistant principals must now meet a “just cause” standard
  • Right to union representation when you are the subject of an investigation
  • Clear notice of allegations is required, even in informal inquiries*
  • Investigations must be closed — no more sitting open indefinitely*
  • Clear steps for pre-disciplinary meetings and outcomes
  • Right to appeal serious disciplinary decisions

*Does not yet apply in OIG investigations.

Governance

Grievances & accountability

  • A formal grievance process for certain discipline and violations of the MOU
  • Ability to grieve unresolved issues related to discrimination, harassment, or retaliation
  • The district is now held to defined timelines for response and resolution
On the ground

Safety & working conditions

  • A district-wide incident response protocol is now in place
  • Added protections for school leaders facing safety threats
  • Up to three days of injury leave after a school-related assault or battery
  • School leaders can request a safety plan
CPAA · Key Wins
CPAA · Key Wins
Structures, support & partnerships
Governance

Leadership structures

  • Established the Leadership Alignment Council, composed of Auxiliary Presidents, to address district-wide inconsistency through quarterly meetings with ONS leadership
  • Every school now has a guaranteed right to maintain an Instructional Leadership Team
  • Principals have the authority to appoint their ILT members
Governance

Voice & collaboration

  • Transitioning from the CPS PAC to a CPAA-led structure
  • Established regular, ongoing conversations between CPAA and District leadership
  • Flagged concerns when district decisions didn't reflect what's happening in schools
The job itself

Union rights & representation

  • Protected time for union engagement, union training, and union business
  • Field-based stewards have access to buildings and can work with members during on-duty time on grievances and union matters — direct, on-the-ground support
Under pressure

Member support & advocacy

  • Ongoing union representation for members navigating investigations and discipline
  • Continuing representation of members experiencing due process violations
  • Won protection of school leaders' autonomy to hire and staff their schools
  • Challenging, and at times bargaining, district policies and practices that don't match school realities
  • Stopped harmful legislative efforts to expand LSC authorities
  • Negotiating the impact of current and upcoming charter transitions
  • Negotiating unworkable district compliance tasks
  • Challenged ineffective network meetings and trainings, pushing for more flexible, CIWP-aligned options
Governance

Partnerships & legislative engagement

  • Strengthened relationships with labor partners, including the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU
  • Expanded engagement with parent union AFSA and the AFL-CIO
  • Built stronger connections with state and local leaders to advocate on funding, safety, and due process
  • Successfully stopped potentially harmful legislation at the state level
On the ground

Showing up for members

  • Supported school leaders navigating immigration-related concerns
  • Coordinated support during extreme weather and emergency situations
  • Supported leaders dealing with violence and safety incidents in their schools
  • Showed up for leaders and communities after the loss of a student
  • Established regular engagement with the Chicago Board of Education to elevate school leader priorities
  • Advocated around the impact of ESSER funding changes on schools and students
The through-line
One union. One voice. One direction.

None of this was given. Every line in this document was bargained or won — and the list keeps growing as CPAA negotiates the first comprehensive contract for Chicago's principals and assistant principals.

CPAA · Key Wins