At least three Illinois teachers unions threatened to strike at the start of this school year. Keeping students out of class so unions can get their way should be illegal in Illinois.
Walking out on students has become a go-to strategy for many affiliates of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association, the two biggest teachers unions in Illinois.
It’s a tactic that bullies school districts into doing what the unions want. Districts don’t want to shut students out of school, especially at the beginning of a new school year. Unions know that.
Since the beginning of 2025, Naperville Unit Education Association, District 146 Educators Council and Valley View Council Local 604 had been in contract negotiations with their respective Boards of Education. A common demand of the unions was compensation.
After nearly eight months at the bargaining table, the unions waited to authorize strikes until just when students were adjusting to a new school year.
After threatening to keep students out of the classroom, NUEA, District 146 Educators Council, and Valley View Council did reach tentative agreements with their boards of education. NUEA and District 146 Educator Council have ratified the new contracts, while Valley View Council has not yet set a date to vote.
Details of the contracts aren’t released until ratification occurs. That leaves taxpayers in the dark over what the unions threatened a strike over, and what they must pay to satisfy the demands.
This scare tactic of holding students’ hostage is an unfair bargaining tactic that is illegal in 37 other states, including Illinois’ neighbors.
The call for a strike by these unions is not a surprise, especially for District 146 Educator Council and Valley View Council, given their 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.
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.
While teacher union strikes may be legal in Illinois, using children as pawns to get what you want is a dishonorable move.
