UFEA • Unit Five Education Association

@ieanea By 1984, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act went into effect and UFEA was formally recognized as a collective bargaining unit for local educators in Unit 5. #IEACB40thAnniversary #UnionStrong #StrongerUnited #TogetherWeAreIEA #UFEApride #LaborDay

Thanks to the work of Peg and others like her across the state — supported by the efforts of @ieanea’s Illinois Political Action Committee for Education (IPACE) — the Collective Bargaining Bill was signed by Governor Jim Thompson in 1983.

In 1979 as UFEA President, Peg Kirk challenged the board's decision to increase workloads w/out negotiating. Teachers threatened to strike & demanded UFEA be their voice. The effort failed, but brought awareness & public support for teachers and their need for bargaining rights.

We know the shortage of educators includes not just teachers, but also Education Support Professionals (ESPs) who are invaluable to our schools. Thank you, @UFEA President Julie Hagler, for advocating for educators & students! #StrongerUnited wandtv.com/news/illinois-…

It’s Election Day! Get to your polling place to #VoteYesForUnit5 by 7pm—and support these school board candidates who will work with us to make our great public schools even better! ☑️YES ☑️Amy Roser ☑️Kelly Pyle ☑️Alex Williams ☑️Mark Adams #SupportOurStudents #SaveOurSchools

You can vote every day between now & April 4, including weekends! And you can register and vote on the same day. Make a plan. Get out and vote! More info and resources at ufea.org/vote. — #UFEAcares #UFEAvotes #SupportOurStudents #SaveOurSchools #VoteYesForUnit5

From @EconomicPolicy: Inflation-adjusted avg. weekly teacher pay relatively flat since 1996. Relative teacher wage penalty hit a high in 2021 & is 23.4% in IL. The benefits advantage for teachers has not been enough to offset the growing wage penalty. epi.org/publication/te…

Black Lives Matter at School has assembled a TREASURE TROVE of resources for classroom and/or personal growth and learning. The goal of this site is to challenge racism and oppression and provide students with the tools needed to take action. Visit: are.na/blm-school-cur…

On Monday evening, I'll be at an town hall on raising educator pay with @SenSanders, @RandiWeingarten, and educators from across the country. If you'd like to join the livestream, sign up and NEA will send you a reminder nea.org/resource-libra…

We’re proud of UFEA & @ieanea member Ricky King and happy to see him recognized by @ISBEnews for the wonderful work he does with our students!

Dozens of people planned to make a public comment at tonight's @McLeanCountyU5 school board meeting about budget cuts. Our reporter is there, and you can watch the meeting online. wglt.org/local-news/202…

The @McLeanCountyU5 school board is meeting to consider cuts for next school year that will happen if the referendum does not pass April 4. You can watch the board meeting and hear public comments here: vimeo.com/event/2815172 #SupportOurStudents #SaveOurSchools #VoteYesForUnit5

We’re disappointed the other candidates wouldn’t meet with us. They don't support our unions, but we’ll need to work together if they’re elected. Unfortunately we didn’t get to hear their vision for Unit 5 or how they envision working with us if elected.

Each shared their priorities, how they envision working with us and plan to include the voices & views of educators & students if elected, how they approach collaboration/decision-making, the board’s role re: curriculum, and their ideas for attracting a more diverse workforce.

Four candidates for school board met w/ a joint committee of UFEA & UFSPA members and leaders this week. We appreciate Alex Williams, Kelly Pyle, Mark Adams & Amy Roser talking with us about issues & interests important to our members, our students and the future of Unit 5.

ESPs are invaluable to the success of our students. But how can schools expect retention when some ESPs are not paid enough to pay their bills? Thank you, Rashida, for advocating for the pay, support & RESPECT that ESPs deserve. Join our rESPect campaign: bit.ly/rESPect

Dr. Weikle will work with the cabinet to bring back specifics for 2024-25 and beyond. And Alan Kalitzky reminds folks that without revenue increases the district will have to start cutting its most valuable resource — educators.

There’s also a reminder that tonight’s discussion represents a starting point — that closing the entire deficit would require even deeper cuts that *will* decrease staff & increase class size significantly. It’s anticipated phase 1 cuts for 2023-24 will be voted on in two weeks.

If you’d like to watch this evening’s regular meeting of the school board, the meeting is being live-streamed: vimeo.com/720855355