Based on a quick internet search, the IEA/NEA appears to be the main bargaining unit for Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, River Forest District 90, and Oak Park District 97. How do Oak Park and River Forest teachers feel about a recent report showing how their unions are spending their hard-earned money?
According to federal reports filed with the Department of Labor (Form LM-2 is filed with the Office of Labor-Management Standards by unions that details how a union spent funds in the past year. It is the most detailed report labor organizations are required to file), a recent Illinois Policy article (https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-education-association-continues-to-lose-members-underfund-job-no-1) noted that less than 15% of IEA members’ dues actually go toward “representational activities,” the core function of a union. The union representing them keeps the rest for other things such as union executive salaries, politics, other priorities, public relations, etc. Of note, the same article highlighted that roughly 33% of IEA officers make $100,000 or more while the average teacher salary was less than $76,000. Something is off, right?
Unions are part of our history, and they can justly protect labor from unsafe and abusive practices; think safeguards against child labor or the dangerous physical labor that occurs in manufacturing plants. Yet “labor” has evolved dramatically over the last century. It is now clear that we have reached a moment where some unions are simply trying to hang onto any relevance and are spending more time, resources and member dues outside of their core mission. In today’s service-based economy, being blindly pro-union without understanding where all the money goes is not only unwise, it is performative, political, and full of empty virtue signaling.
If Oak Park and River Forest teachers decided to directly hire a law firm to represent them in contract negotiations, they might get more on their dollar investment instead of 15 cents. That would leave teachers with 85 more cents in their pockets to save, invest and donate to causes they choose. Currently these excessive dues are allowing union leadership to pay themselves, peddle their influence and redirect funding to causes that may not be in alignment with many teachers’ values.
I am unclear how individual teachers can choose to opt-out of their bargaining unit at our schools. Yet I presume there are a few lawyers in our community who can advise our teachers of such an option and maybe even offer representation at an 85% discount.
An analogy here may be that $150 cable bill you are paying each month when you only need 15 channels and not 100; many of which you will never watch. We all know families who cut the cable cord and are enjoying single-use platforms and it is working out just fine. In fact, such early adopters now have a little more money in their pockets to spend and even donate to causes that align with their values.
Teachers are some of the most patient and wonderful human beings on the planet. They have positively impacted the lives of countless generations. Many are still underpaid, overworked and under-resourced, depending on what community they might work in. Unions who skim too much off the top, aren’t the long-term answer for teachers, taxpayers, or our community.
Oak Park and River Forest teachers, please at least think about this issue so we don’t end up with the drama (and tax burden) similar to that of the CTU.
Ross Lissuzzo is an Oak Park native and current River Forest resident.