SPRINGFIELD – HB 4416, the Unemployment Equity Act sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Marcus C. Evans Jr. (D-33), passed the House Labor Committee. This is a critical step forward in ensuring frontline, public education workers are eligible to receive unemployment when school is not in session.
“The Unemployment Equity Act is about fairness and justice for all workers by ending the practice of treating one class of workers as less deserving,” said Pat Devaney, Secretary-Treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO. “These non-instructional workers are on the front lines every day—getting our kids to school, making sure they have a hot meal at lunch, and keeping classrooms clean and safe. Yet each summer, they are forced to scrape together pennies to get by because they don’t have the unemployment insurance safety net like other workers who are out of work through no fault of their own.”
Hundreds of members and leaders of the Illinois AFL-CIO, AFSCME Council 31, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Chicago Teachers Union 1 and SEIU Local 73, rallied in support of the legislation earlier today.
“Our thanks to Representative Evans and Senator Villivilam for their leadership on this important legislation,” said Dian Palmer, President of SEIU Local 73. “As the union representing more than 15,000 school support staff workers in Chicago and throughout Illinois, this bill is critical to the wellbeing of our members and their families.”
Every summer, thousands of support staff in Illinois public schools and universities are left without a paycheck and access to unemployment insurance. Providing unemployment during the summer months to these employees creates parity with workers doing the exact same work in the private sector.
“Support staff are the backbones of our schools, often overlooked, but always providing stability. They are the first to arrive and the last to leave. It is time to treat them fairly and equitably by allowing them access to unemployment benefits in the summer months,” said Karl Goeke, President of the Illinois Education Association. “Year-round pay allows support staff to return to their same schools and students every year. Having a stable workforce in schools helps students perform better, preserves institutional knowledge, builds stronger relationships and better schools.”
Support staff eligible include school bus drivers, special education classroom assistants, paraprofessionals, lunchroom workers, security guards, janitors, crossing guards and all others in a supportive role in our public schools and universities.
“Our work is essential, and we deserve basic support. Yet while we are scraping together pennies to survive, billionaires in this state are using their untaxed wealth to buy influence and shape our elections,” remarked Megan Accardo, a paraprofessional and member of Grayslake Federation of Paraprofessionals and School Personnel, IFT Local 504. “That is not just unfair, that is a system out of balance. We are the backbone of our schools, but we are treated like we are disposable. Summer is not a break for us, it’s a financial crisis. The system has decided that the people who hold our schools together don’t deserve stability.”
These predominantly Black, Latine, and women workers are among the lowest paid in Illinois’ public education system and, unlike almost any other worker in the state, are not covered under the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act.
“Educational support staff make our schools and universities work, but for too long, they’ve been expected to get by without income for the entire summer,” said AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch. “By allowing support staff access to the same unemployment benefits that other seasonal workers receive, we can build stronger schools and universities, stabilize the education workforce, and show support staff that their dedication and hard work is valued.”
The legislation will now head to the House for a full vote.
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The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state’s largest union. IEA represents Pre K-12 teachers outside the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.
