We are 135,000 strong and have a powerful voice that cannot be ignored
Stronger United
Suspicious Anti-Union Activity
Help us set the record straight when they try to divide us. If you or someone you know has been approached by an anti-union organizations, let us know about it.
Membership Protection Center Fact Sheet
All of these organizations have ties to people and institutions that want to privatize public education and “defund and defang” unions.
Stronger United – Don’t Knock Window Cling
Order your free “Don’t Knock I’m Sticking with My Union/Stronger United” window cling to put on the front door of your home.
STRONGER UNITED ACTION KIT
A collection of resources to help us stay united, and stay strong. We are 135,000 strong and have a powerful voice that cannot be ignored. We are stronger united.
Why unions are being targeted
Corporate wealth is fueling these attacks because they want to eliminate unions, maximize their profits at the expense of their employees and take away the collective voice of the working and middle class. This isn’t about what’s good for us or our students or public education as a whole. It’s about making it harder for working people to get ahead, making it harder for us to stand united and fight for our students, our schools, our paychecks and our benefits.
By standing united, we stay strong and have a powerful collective voice that cannot be ignored.
The same groups who helped fund Janus v. AFSCME are sowing division in our schools and on our college campuses. They fought to silence us with the Janus case, but they did not succeed. Now wealthy, anti-unionists like Bruce Rauner, Dick Uihlein, John Tillman and the Koch Brothers, are looking for new ways to diminish our collective voice so they can maximize their profits and control our schools.
There is a web of dark money being used to fund all sorts of attacks against public education. They’re sowing division in our communities through deception, attempting to turn public schools into political battlezones. These people say they know what’s best for our students and public education, but the truth is the only organization that really is the voice of education employees and our profession is our union.
Anti-union attacks are underway
#ImStickingWithMyUnion
Anti-union organizations like the Illinois Policy Institute are trying to silence our collective voice.
The voice we use to advocate for our students, our schools and ourselves. We won’t let them.
Get the FACTS
Our public schools need us to advocate for our students, our schools and our communities. Being a part of the Illinois Education Association strengthens our collective voice and improves the daily lives of education employees in all sorts of ways including by helping us access higher wages and addressing workload issues.
Through IEA you’ll have access to the non-partisan movement that looks to make a high-quality education accessible to all children in Illinois.
Unions have played a critical role in building and protecting the middle class in America. We provide hard-working people economic stability for their families and give them the tools to build a good life, home and education for themselves and their children. Unions raise wages for both union and nonunion workers. They advocate for policies that benefit all working people such as increases to the minimum wage, affordable health care and great public schools. Through collective bargaining, members of strong unions are scoring victories that help entire communities.
The IEA was organized by superintendents, principals, teachers and other friends of education in 1853 and was originally known as the Illinois State Teachers’ Institute. In 1936, our name was officially changed to the Illinois Education Association to better reflect our evolving mission. Learn more about the history of the IEA. In the more than 150 years we’ve been in operation, the IEA has achieved innumerable wins for both public education and our students.
Unions can provide all sorts of benefits not only in your workplace, but also outside of your workplace. Your union gives you a strong collective voice, provides liability insurance, reimbursement for legal fees, advice on all sorts of work related matters and free professional development clock hours. Download a list of all the benefits you get for being a member of the IEA. You also can get discounts on all sorts of things, including at Target, your cell phone bill, your car insurance and travel.
Share the real truth about unions on social media.
Order a window cling and pick up a proud union member yard sign at your local IEA office.
Talk to your friends and family about why your union is important to you.
Reach out to IEA Connect for help making an impact.