Chicago, Illinois. The 36,000 member Chicago Teachers Union (AFT Local 1) has endorsed HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).

The April 2nd endorsement came at the Local’s 600 member House of Delegates meeting by a near unanimous vote. Those who spoke for the endorsement pointed out that not only would HR 676 cover everyone in the country but would also enable the union to take healthcare off the collective bargaining table.

The Chicago Teachers Union represents teachers and educational support personnel working in the 600 schools within the Chicago Public School System. Its members include approximately 26,500 teachers, 6,500 paraprofessionals and 3,000 retirees. The CTU is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) and the Illinois AFL-CIO. The Chicago public school system is the third largest in the country. CTU Local 1 of the AFT is the largest local in the state and was the founding union from which the AFT developed.