President Swanson: Organized labor still relevant, necessary

It’s an argument we’ve heard more than a few times in recent years:

“The time for unions has passed. We once needed them, but there are now workplace protections that make unions no longer necessary or desirable.”

It is certainly true that we no longer have sweatshops that employ school-age children in low-paying and dangerous jobs. And, yes, during the 20th century, laws were passed that protect employees from these and other exploitive practices. It is worth noting that it was the labor movement that ended those practices and pushed for the passage of those laws.

The fact that some injustices have become extinct does not mean that there is nothing left to be done by organized labor.

As society has changed, so has the role of the union. Members are focusing on taking responsibility for the quality of their work.

My union, the Illinois Education Association, has embraced change and taken on additional responsibility. We continue to negotiate contracts and advocate to ensure that our members and their students have the best possible teaching and learning conditions. We will always do that.

But, in the 21st century, we know there is more we must do if our members are to realize their professional goal of helping our students develop the tools and skills they need to be successful in life.

For students to succeed, schools and all the education stakeholders — teachers and support staff, administrators, parents and government — must be willing to do their part.
IEA has stepped up to the challenge. We have insisted on not only being at the table wherever and whenever a discussion that will impact our members takes place, but we also have used the expertise of our members to develop proposals that will improve education quality in Illinois.

For example, IEA developed Illinois Priority One, a blueprint for improving education in public schools statewide. In it, you will find many innovative ideas about ways to prepare children to become productive citizens and ensure they are college and/or career-ready.

It emphasizes professional development and mentoring for teachers, principals and administrators; teacher certification, rewarding school success, emphasis on early childhood education, smaller classes, parental engagement, changes in the ways schools are physically structured and other items.

IEA also worked closely with the Illinois State Board of Education to develop the state application for federal Race to the Top funding. While Illinois did not receive one of the competitive grants, we consider the work that went into the application to be useful and the relationships with other involved stakeholders important.

Most significantly, IEA and other Illinois labor organizations have, for decades, advocated for reform of the state school-funding system. Today in Illinois, the quality of education a child receives is greatly influenced by where the student happens to live. That is an injustice that cannot be tolerated.

So, while it is true that the injustices that helped create the labor movement have, thankfully, vanished, there are other injustices and inequities that we, as a labor organization of education professionals, are obligated to fight.

It has been said, “Education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” Labor supported the civil rights movement of the 20th century and it is clear that our work continues.

Ken Swanson is president of the Illinois Education Association.

(This column appears in the September 6, 2010 edition of the State Journal-Register)