Tinley Park teachers union may strike Sept. 22
District 146 Educators Council has voted to authorize a strike. If an agreement is not reached, teachers in Tinley Park could strike as soon as Sept. 22.
Nearly 200 teachers affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers in Tinley Park Elementary District 146 could strike as soon as Sept. 22 after the union filed an intent to strike notice Sept. 12, the last step before walking out on 2,354 students.
Walking out on students has become a go-to strategy for many affiliates of IFT and the Illinois Education Association, the two biggest teachers unions in Illinois.
Earlier this school year, Valley View Council Local 604, an affiliate of IFT, set a Sept. 18 strike date but reached a tentative agreement before walking out. The Naperville Unit Education Association, an affiliate of the Illinois Education Association, voted to authorize a strike but reached a tentative contract agreement one day later.
It’s a tactic that bullies school districts into doing what the unions want. Districts don’t want to shut students out of school, and unions know that. That’s why most states don’t allow teachers to strike: holding students’ hostage is an unfair bargaining tactic.
At least 37 states, including all of Illinois’ neighbors, have laws prohibiting teacher strikes.
District 146 Educator Councils’ call for a strike isn’t a surprise, given its affiliation with IFT. IFT is also the parent affiliate of the Chicago Teachers Union, which provides a case study in how Illinois unions aggressively use this power. In just the past 13 years, CTU has walked out on students five times:
- In 2012, a strike during contract negotiations kept kids out of classes for seven days.
- On April 1, 2016, the union conducted an illegal one-day strike in response to alleged “union-busting” efforts by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS CEO Forrest Claypool.
- In 2019, a strike during contract negotiations closed schools for 11 days.
- In January 2021, classes were canceled when CTU refused to return to school for in-person learning following COVID-19 closures.
- In January 2022, CTU walked out on school children for five days. Parents were notified of the walkout after 11 p.m. on a school night, leaving them just hours to develop a back-up plan after the union decided not to show up for Chicago’s children.
District 146 educators, as well as other IFT and IEA affiliates, should note: while teachers union strikes may be legal in Illinois, walking out on students is a fast way to lose people’s support. Recent polling shows 60% of Chicago voters have an unfavorable view of CTU and more than half disapprove of the union’s president, Stacy Davis Gates. Of the 798 registered Chicago voters polled, only 29% approved of CTU, down from 44% in February 2023.
District 146 teachers who don’t want to strike do have another option: they can opt out of the union. To learn more about opting out, visit LeaveIFT.com.