>> The Chicago Teachers Union is one step closer to finalizing a deal with Chicago public schools after nearly a year of bargaining, 85% of its 30,000 members voted last week on a tentative agreement and 97% of them approved it.

The contract still needs approval from the Board of Education which is set to vote on it next Thursday.

But now to break down that contract is CTU President Stacy Davis.

Gates.

Welcome back.

Stacey, we talked about the several times over the last first off, you all have called this contract a turning point.

How so?

you know, if we're looking at the federal level of our government right now.

>> You have Elon Musk in Donald Trump wreaking havoc on federal institutions.

Windows.

We had that in Chicago are ready was call Renaissance 2010 with Arnie Duncan.

It was caused school reconstitution with Paul Vallas.

It was caught 50 school closings or Rahm Emanuel.

We are marking different standard of where we're going to get kids Opportunity.

Elementary school kids get 30 minutes of recess.

We put millions more dollars in the sports program.

They'll have transportation equipment and uniforms.

Sports that girls play will have parity with boy sports.

We're going to get kids more than what they've gotten before.

That's the turning So this is, as we've all mentions several times, this is the first contract deal to be closed in 15 years without a strike vote.

>> There was still some tension.

We're gonna come back to that a bit.

written Johnson, you know, he's a CTU member.

You and many CTU members endorsed campaign supported him during that election.

How would you describe his role in bringing this contract?

There?

Well, I think it was the week before we settled that the mayor brought us to city Hall.

We were summoned.

>> And what we were able to do in that particular meeting was understand how close we were to settlement understand that the issues that stood between us where negotiable and from that point, we were able to speak on terms of settlement and negotiate that and we got there and thank God we did.

How do you think those previous strike votes and 2 strikes?

One was a strike averted.

How do you think all of those built up to the contract that you have today and where the CTU is today?

That's a great question.

I think that they all built up to today.

>> People are celebrating no strike.

But what I would say is that it has been the organizing, especially with the communities that our schools are anchored in.

I think a diet high school not only did just reichheld diet high school, but there was a hunger strike for 34 days.

So once those people like Jeanette Taylor Whos an otter, one man, Mayor Johnson board member G to Brown.

They help say that school from closure and then the Chicago teachers union in 2016 took it to the negotiating table.

What we were able to secure through our community coalition was we able to keep school open.

We were able to resource that school with more support in.

Now, that school has an artist that's in residence.

It has a state championship basketball team.

It has more opportunity in kids from across the city are looking at that school as an option.

So let's talk about what's in the contract, raising teacher salaries by 45% each year.

>> Enforcing smaller class sizes, giving 10 extra minutes a day and prep time for elementary school teachers doubles bilingual education staffed and provides librarian positions among lots of other the points that you all spent a lot of time negotiating.

Why do you think it was difficult to get all of this?

>> I think there a lot of impediments.

I obviously, you know, the much reported, you know, push and pull of the politics.

But we also are doing new things in Chicago.

We have a school board that is partially elected.

They have a bigger boysen stake in how we land these deals.

So people like the board President Shannon Hardin members like gee to Brown Cairns, a core people who have an understanding the granular level of both movie man and the school district that help But also it was the first time in 30 years that our union was able to bargain a contract with our full bargaining rights.

So both sides needed to exercise a muscle where we exchange ideas across the table district had to learn that the union had to learn that.

So we got and I'm proud of it because this is an agreement that both sides can be proud of.

You have got bit of criticism from within the ranks.

A new caucus and members called the real caucus and they said in a statement, quote.

>> Many of us who voted to accept the contract were tired of the weight and lacked hope that our leadership have the tenacity to win more.

There are winds here, but this is not transformative.

We need CTU leadership with the integrity to be honest about the work that still needs to be done.

They called the Union fractured in that statement.

What do you what do you say to all of them?

Well, 85% of our members participated and our democracy and 97% of those members say yes to the contract.

>> That is ridiculously high number of precedent.

fact, 65 of our rank and file members bargain this contract, every single governing body of our union approved this contract.

I think our democracy is one that should be modeled and most institutions.

And furthermore, I'm glad we are at a conclusion.

The Department of Education is being dismantled we speak.

We need to not only build a force field around the Chicago Public schools.

We're going to have to get into the work now of our local in our state government to build a Trump rainy day fund because he's put our city and our school district in its crosshairs.

And we're going to have to protect the investments that we have to make for our young people.

And so we're going to push them to figure out how we push those who have a little more to do a little more to help us protect our democracy and our ability to teach truth in CPS.

So on that subject of the district says that this is a 1.5 billion dollar deal.

That's what it's going to cost CPS over the life of the Contract.

Co Pedro Martinez has said that the district has the money for the first year of the contract.

And he has said that a couple of times during negotiations.

>> But that we know the district faces budget issues every year.

What do you say to people who are worried that the district is going to be in a bind when it's time to to pay what it needs to pay in the coming years.

Will Pedro said very clearly that he would not responsible party in this collective bargaining situation.

He rode IPads about it, in fact.

So we're confident that district is in a better financial position.

>> In fact, the 3rd party arbitrator provided the back by a new report said that the district was in a better position to fund this contract than they ever have been in years past.

So those 2 things couple together.

Give us a lot certainty.

Also, the state of Illinois has to do more.

We have that one of the best funding formulas in the state and it needs revenue.

And that's just Chicago that every school district across the state of Illinois.

So while the Trump administration he has his crosshairs on Chicago.

He also has a Illinois.

It's going to behoove us in this moment to find out what coalition alliance and solidarity looks like.

It's also going to ask those who have more to pay more in this moment so we can secure what we have in Illinois and in the city of Chicago to be a beacon in the world that is moving, you know, far too fast toward something very different.

20 seconds left.

What's next for CT you will see to you is going to do what we always do.

We're going to help our brothers at the firefighters then get their contract.

We rallied with them today.

We are going to be with a coalition partners and our students tomorrow rallying for our earth because we need it and we're going to implement this contract and not go indoors this summer to make