For over 170 years, the Teachers’ Union has been active in Illinois’s education system, protecting rights for eligible staff. The union is the largest labor union in the state (Illinois Education Association) with over 103,000 members in Illinois and nearly 3 million nationally. Though the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not require that staff join a union, most choose to, as the benefits are abundant.
“If we feel like we’re being treated unfairly by the administration or the school district, we have the power to speak up about it,” stated Rick Cardis, President of the Teachers’ Union at ETHS. “I think unions in general are extremely important to give a voice to workers in our circumstance.”
Without the alliance, many factors such as wages, working conditions, and job hours could be poorer. Additionally, students’ learning quality could decrease, and class sizes could be larger, with less trust in administrators.
“A lot of the work that we do is even advocacy for students, to make sure that the school is working better for them,” said Cardis.
“Unions weren’t necessarily created to protect students, but it does serve that purpose,” began executive board member Cecelia Rice. “All of the collaboration and work with administrators that we do is ultimately to serve our students. If a teacher or an educator is burnt out or in fear in their workplace, they’re not going to be their best self for their students.”
Cardis compared the union to oxygen masks on an airplane, “I view the union as the [analogy], that if the teachers aren’t taken care of, if we don’t have good working conditions, if we’re not supported in the ways that we need, it makes it harder for us to support students and so that’s why I think it’s the union is particularly important.”
However, the union is not perfect. Rice, who has spent 9 years at ETHS teaching in the special education department, believes that, in some ways, there is room for improvement.
“I think [our working conditions] can be so much better to serve our students with disabilities,” stated Rice. “There are a lot of things we can do, so I’m excited to get into those conversations.”
Along with this, there are separate unions for various sectors when it comes to education and schooling. For instance, the Custodian Union or the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
“I would love to see us have a little bit more collaboration among the unions,” noted Rice. “I think that would be really powerful, because we are all working together to keep the school running and students safe, and [keep] our working conditions managed as well.”
While some areas of the union could be restructured, the positives are not overlooked.
“Compared to most places around us, [ETHS] has a pretty strong voice with the administration,” commented Cardis.
On a larger scale, this sort of alliance has significant sociopolitical advantages.
“When we watch what’s happening in the world with the income disparities and billionaires having so much power in policy, it’s really important that workers are united, working together,” remarked Rice. “You can see how we’re able to influence policy long term. It’s a way that we have an already established network to fight against fascism and the things we’re seeing at the national stage.”
Nonetheless, hope for the future is not lacking when it comes to partnership and enhancement.
“I kind of see it as dreaming of how we can make the school better, the district better, and I’m really excited to see how that pans out,” reflected Rice.
