The BOARD recognizes the UNION as the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of all employees employed in the job titles or categories of positions listed in Appendix D.

If the BOARD reclassifies job titles or categories of positions or employs a new job title or category of position having a community of interest with employees in the existing bargaining unit, employees in such new job title or category of position shall be included within the existing bargaining unit. Upon the UNION’s request, the parties shall negotiate the terms and conditions of employment for such new or reclassified title or category of position. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to require renegotiation of terms and conditions of employment applicable to employees in an existing bargaining unit as a result of the BOARD’s reclassification of the title or category of employees in the unit.

The Office of the Chief Executive Officer shall, upon request and within seven calendar days or as soon as possible thereafter, furnish to the UNION available and pertinent reports, statistics and general information concerning CPS. The Chief Executive Officer shall have the same right to receive pertinent information from the UNION.

The Office of the Chief Executive Officer shall, upon request and within seven calendar days or as soon as possible thereafter, furnish to the UNION information necessary to the intelligent and professional resolution of specific grievances and professional problems of bargaining unit employees, including laid off or retired employees whose grievances arose during their employment as a bargaining unit employee. Any such information shall be made available only with the consent of the bargaining unit employee involved and shall be kept in confidence unless otherwise agreed. The Chief Executive Officer shall have the same right to receive pertinent information from the UNION.

Prior to each regular or special Board meeting, the BOARD shall post online the public agenda for the meeting and copies of the proposed Board reports listed on the public agenda. The BOARD shall electronically transmit a copy of the public agenda and the copies of the proposed Board actions to the UNION President simultaneously with the online posting. Insofar as possible, if any Board report directly affects this Agreement, the Chief Executive Officer or his or her designee shall contact the UNION President to discuss the report as soon as the report is finalized and prior to the meeting during which the report will be considered. After each meeting, the BOARD shall post online the Board Action Index for the meeting and all Board actions during such meeting.

During the budget planning process, the BOARD agrees to meet with the UNION on a monthly basis through the parties’ Budget Committee to review revenue and expenditure assumptions and other pertinent budgetary information. After the budget is adopted, the BOARD agrees to meet with the UNION upon request to review the quarterly Interim Summary Financial Statements and the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for each Fiscal Year.

A copy of the CPS Weekly Newsletter and any employee bulletin relating to the Agreement shall be transmitted to the UNION President simultaneously with its transmission to employees.

The Office of the Chief Executive Officer agrees to supply the UNION with the following reports as long as such reports are prepared: (a) teacher payroll step and lane report and (b) monthly teacher substitute activity report.

The UNION shall furnish the Office of the Chief Executive Officer with five copies of the current UNION delegate’s handbook.

The BOARD shall deduct from the pay of each full-time bargaining unit employee who is a member of the United Credit Union from whom it receives an authorization to do so the bi-weekly amount authorized by the member for savings/shares in the United Credit Union.

Each eligible bargaining unit employee may have one authorization agreement and options to increase or decrease the member’s share/savings during the calendar year.

Such amounts deducted from the member’s bi-weekly payroll shall be forwarded electronically via the Automatic Clearing House to the member’s account at the United Credit Union no later than ten work days after such deductions are made. A list of persons from whom funds have been deducted in a sequence mutually acceptable to the BOARD and the United Credit Union shall be made available to the United Credit Union no later than ten work days after such deductions are made.

The United Credit Union shall submit authorization cards for deduction upon forms approved by CPS.

All non-member bargaining unit employees covered by this Agreement, commencing on the effective date of this Agreement, or sixty days after their initial employment, and continuing during the term of this Agreement, and so long as they remain non-members of the UNION, shall pay to the UNION each month their fair share of the costs of the services rendered by the UNION that are chargeable to non-members under state and federal law.

The UNION shall certify to the BOARD a fair share amount not to exceed the dues uniformly required of members in conformity with federal and state law and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations. In the event of an increase or decrease in the amount of the fair share fee, the UNION shall advise the BOARD and all fair share fee payers in writing of the change at least forty-five days before the effective date of the increase or decrease. The BOARD shall implement the increase or decrease during the first full payroll period on or after the forty-five-day notice period or the effective date of the change, whichever date is later.

Such fair share payment by non-members shall be deducted by the BOARD from the earnings of the non-member bargaining unit employees and remitted to the UNION within ten work days of said deduction, unless required to remit a fee to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for escrow.

The BOARD shall cooperate with the UNION to ascertain the names of all non-member bargaining unit employees from whose earnings the fair share payments shall be deducted and their work locations and shall provide the UNION space to post a notice concerning fair share.

The UNION and the BOARD shall comply with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations concerning notice, objections and related matters contained in its fair share rules.

Upon adoption of any UNION internal appeal procedure concerning fair share fees, the UNION shall supply the BOARD with a copy of such procedure. In addition, the UNION shall advise the BOARD of subsequent changes therein.

The UNION shall indemnify and hold harmless the BOARD and its members, officers, agents and employees from and against any forms of liability that shall arise out of or by reason of action taken by the BOARD for the purposes of complying with the above provisions of this Article, or in reliance on any list, notice, certification, affidavit or assignment furnished by the UNION under any such provisions. The UNION shall be responsible for the attorney’s fees of any attorney for the BOARD. Such attorney shall be selected by the UNION subject to approval by the BOARD, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.

If, during the term of this Agreement, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board or a court of competent jurisdiction rules any part of this Article void or not enforceable, the UNION and the BOARD agree to convene negotiations on this matter immediately for the sole purpose of bringing this Article into compliance with the standards or rulings of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board or the court.

Nothing in this Article shall inhibit or interfere with the right of non-association of employees based upon bona fide religious tenets or teachings of a church or religious body of which such employees are members. Such employees shall pay an amount equal to their proportionate share determined under a proportionate share agreement to a non-religious charitable organization mutually agreed upon by the employees affected and the exclusive representative to which such employees would otherwise pay such fee. If the affected employees and the exclusive representative are unable to reach an agreement on the matter, an organization shall be chosen from an approved list of charitable organizations established by the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.

Each school shall establish a Professional Problems Committee to discuss school operations, contract administration issues and any new BOARD instructional program or joint BOARD-UNION initiative prior to or at the time of its implementation at the local school level. The committee shall be composed of the principal and no fewer than three and not more than five members identified by the UNION delegate. The UNION delegate shall be the chairperson of the Professional Problems Committee. The UNION delegate shall notify the principal of the UNION representatives as soon as they are elected and report any changes in representatives as soon as possible. The committee shall meet at least monthly without loss of compensation, and the parties shall jointly establish the agenda at least forty-eight hours prior to each meeting. The principal and the chairperson of the Professional Problems Committee shall exchange available and pertinent information concerning the operation of the school when such information is necessary for the understanding and resolution of professional problems under discussion by the principal and the Professional Problems Committee. The principal or the UNION delegate may invite consultants or resource persons to attend the meeting to discuss specific agenda items with advance notice to the committee members. The committee shall decide whether and how to report the proceedings of the meeting to school staff.

A City-Wide Professional Problems Committee shall be established with members representing clinicians, PSRPs assigned to the Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services and other city-wide employees. The committee shall be composed of the Chief Officer of the Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services or his or her designee and between eight and twelve city-wide employees designated by the UNION. The committee shall meet at least four times a year without loss of compensation and shall also meet with clinician managers if possible.

A Substitute Teacher Professional Problems Committee shall be established with members representing temporarily assigned teachers, Cadre substitutes and day-to-day substitutes. The committee shall be composed of the Chief Talent Officer or his or her designee and between eight and twelve substitute teachers designated by the UNION. The committee shall meet at least four times a year, and employees shall be paid their daily rate for attending such meetings.

All UNION delegates shall be provided with one additional forty-minute or the length of a class period, whichever is longer, duty-free period per month during which time they shall conduct UNION business, including, but not limited to, the investigation of professional problems and grievances, development of Professional Problems Committee agendas, distribution of bona fide Union materials and maintenance of the UNION bulletin board. UNION delegates shall be permitted to combine their monthly duty-free periods to be released to attend UNION-conducted training and professional development. In addition, city-wide delegates shall be provided with two forty-minute periods each school year, one per each city-wide in-service day, during which time they shall be allowed to conduct Union business.

Teacher representatives on the Local School Council shall be provided with one additional forty-minute or the length of a class period, whichever is longer, duty-free period per month during which time they shall conduct Local School Council business.

The BOARD shall grant forty-five appointed teachers or PSRPs elected or appointed to full-time positions with the UNION, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers or the Chicago Federation of Labor–Industrial Union Council leaves of absence without pay in increments of twelve calendar months for the purpose of accepting these positions upon appropriate application by the UNION. The BOARD shall extend those leaves in increments of twelve calendar months.

Bargaining unit employees who are on leaves for Union business may continue their health care and dental benefit coverage, provided that they pay the full cost of such coverage.

Bargaining unit employees who are on leaves for Union business shall be permitted to pay the contributions required or permitted by law to be made by the employee and the BOARD to the Public School Teachers’ Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago or the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago to ensure that full credit for retirement purposes is granted for the time spent on such leaves of absence.

Bargaining unit employees who are on leaves for Union business shall continue to accrue seniority with the BOARD, and the leave of absence will not be considered a break in service.

Teachers who are on a UNION leave may teach classes for which they are properly certified, subject to the voluntary agreement to such arrangement between the teacher and the principal or head administrator of the school or unit.

The UNION shall be provided adequate bulletin board space in a place readily accessible to and normally frequented by all bargaining unit employees in each school or unit for the posting of official notices and other official materials relating to Union activities. The bulletin board space allocated shall be identified with the name of the UNION, the name of the UNION delegates and the names of the members of the Professional Problems Committee. UNION delegates and authorized UNION representatives shall be responsible for the content and maintenance of the bulletin board.

UNION delegates, officers and authorized UNION representatives shall have the right to place materials in the mailboxes of bargaining unit employees. Materials placed in mailboxes shall be restricted to official communications from the UNION or communications signed by the UNION delegate. A copy of all materials placed in the mailboxes of bargaining unit employees by the UNION shall simultaneously be placed in the principal’s or head administrator’s mailbox.