Stacy Davis Gates (born December 25, 1976) is an American labor leader and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. She is president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). In May 2022, she was elected president of the union after previously serving as vice president under Jesse Sharkey.

Early life

Davis Gates grew up in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

in a middle class household. Her first job was a union job working in the cafeteria at the

Memorial Hospital of South Bend 'Memorial Hospital'' is a short-term acute care hospital located in South Bend, Indiana. The hospital was founded in 1894 with three patient beds. Today, the hospital has 526 beds and is a designated Level II trauma center. The hospital place ...

. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from St. Mary's College in 1999. Later she studied nonprofit management at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and educational administration at Concordia University Chicago.

Career

Teaching career

Davis Gates began her career teaching history in 2004 at Englewood Technical Prep Academy High School, a public school on the south side of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In 2008, the school was closed as part of a series of closures led by the CEO of

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

(CPS),

Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Du ...

, Davis Gates attributes this as the moment she was "radicalized." After the closure of Englewood Technical Prep Academy, Davis Gates transitioned to

Roberto Clemente Community Academy Roberto Clemente Community Academy (commonly known as Clemente, Roberto Clemente High School) is a public 4–year high school located in the West Town community area of Chicago, Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Public Schools, the school is n ...

in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago. In May 2008, Davis Gates was one of 12 elected delegates for the Chicago Teachers Union who formed the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE).

Chicago Teachers Union

In 2011, Davis Gates joined the staff of the Chicago Teachers Union as political director.

Vice President

In 2018, Jesse Sharkey succeeded Karen Lewis as president and Davis Gates was chosen as Sharkey's vice president following the recommendation of Lewis. As Vice President, she oversaw a 14-day strike in 2019, over failures to reach a contract. The majority of her time as vice president was characterized by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

; in April 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker closed all schools to in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year. In October of that year CPS announced a plan to return to in-person instruction, which Davis Gates and the CTU opposed. Chicago Public Schools returned to in-person instruction in January 2021, despite concerns of the union and discussions of a potential strike from Davis Gates. In January 2022, the CTU went on a 5-day work-stoppage over safety concerns following a rise in COVID-19 cases. In 2021, Governor Pritzker signed HB 2908 into law, establishing a fully elected

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in Chicago by 2027, supported by the CTU and Davis Gates.

President

In February 2022, CTU President Jesse Sharkey announced he would not reelection. In May of that year Davis Gates and the rest of the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) were elected with 56% of the vote and she took office in July. In August 2022, she denied speculation that she would run for mayor in the upcoming 2023 election, instead endorsing CTU organizer and

Cook County Commissioner The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...

Brandon Johnson Brandon Johnson (born March 27, 1976) is an American educator and politician serving as the 57th mayor of Chicago. A member of the Democratic Party, Johnson was elected mayor in April 2023. He previously served on the Cook County Board of Commi ...

. As president of the union, Davis Gates oversaw large contributions to Johnson's mayoral campaign; including, donating $8 per month per member's dues, to controversy and mixed support among CTU members. CTU contributed $2.4 million to fund the mayoral campaign, which Johnson ultimately won in an April runoff. In an August 2023 interview with ''

South Side Weekly The ''South Side Weekly'', previously known as the ''Chicago Weekly News'' and ''Chicago Weekly'', is an American alternative newspaper based in Woodlawn on the South Side of Chicago. It was established in 1995 under the ''Chicago Weekly News'' ...

'', Davis Gates expressed optimism for the union's future relationship with the mayor and elected school board.

Personal life

Davis Gates lives on the south side of Chicago with her husband and three children. Her grandparents both moved to Chicago from the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

as part of the Great Migration, before settling in South Bend, Indiana. In September 2023, Davis Gates faced controversy after a website critical of the Chicago Teacher Union published her son's name, photo and the name of the private high school he is enrolled. Critics highlighted her past statements criticizing school choice initiatives, whereas Davis Gates highlighted her son's enrollment as representing a larger issue of disinvestment in public schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis Gates, Stacy 1976 births Living people Chicago Teachers Union people Schoolteachers from Illinois Saint Mary's College (Indiana) alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Concordia University Chicago alumni People from South Bend, Indiana Activists from Chicago African-American activists African-American schoolteachers American Federation of Teachers people American women educators Education activists American trade union leaders Leaders of organizations Women trade union leaders Workers' rights activists 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women People from Indiana 21st-century African-American educators 21st-century American educators