West Frankfort’s local union and school board have been at the negotiation table for more than five months. If an agreement is not reached, teachers in West Frankfort could strike as soon as Oct. 26.
Teachers affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers Local 817 in Frankfort Community Unit School District 168 could strike as soon as Oct. 26 after the union filed an intent to strike notice on Oct. 15. Filing an intent to strike notice is the last step the union needs to take before walking out on students.
Walking out on students has become a go-to strategy for many affiliates of Illinois Federation of Teachers – the AFT state affiliate – 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. While a strike was avoided with a tentative agreement, it was voted down and now a second tentative agreement is set to be voted on.
District 146 educators council, another IFT affiliate, filed an intent to strike notice on Sept. 12. A strike was avoided before walking out on students and a new contract has been ratified.
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 that was ratified.
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 Local 817, District 146 Educator Council and Valley View Council, given their affiliation with IFT.
IFT, under the new leadership of Stacy Davis Gates, 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.
West Frankfort 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.
