In the Fall of 1980, the New Trier Teacher’s Association went on strike. To this day, it marks the only time ever that New Trier had a work stoppage. It lasted 7 days, from Octt. 1 to the 7t.
The teachers’ defied a court order – an injuction – to return to school. Back in the day, it was illegal for teachers to go on strike, but they did anyway to hold out for the contract they wanted.
Sharon Weiner, an English teacher during that time and now the sophomore adviser chair, said that “It wasn’t fun. Nobody wants this, but sometimes it’s necessary.”
The teachers felt they were underpaid and underbenefitted. The community at the time was mostly against the teachers, believing the strike was uncalled for. Going from doorstep to doorstep, teachers pleaded with the community to offer its support, but many were unhappy with their movement, according to now retired history social studies teacher Mitchell Jones.
At one point, the President of the Teacher’s Association was in danger of spending time in prison. This put a lot of pressure on the teachers to act and make a deal. On the other hand, the Board of Education was experiencing pressure as well. They attempted to replace the teachers on the first day of the strike by hiring substitutes. This temporary fix did not work: many students did not show up to school and there just weren’t enough substitutes.
After much debating, the Teacher’s Association accepted a tentative proposal by a vote of 231-28. The proposal included raising the teachers’ net pay by 7.5%, a decrease in taxes previously paid on retirement funds, and more fringe benefits for medical and educational costs.
In the second year of the deal, there was 7.4% increase across the board, along with an increase in stipends. The Board was responsible for paying the remaining TRS payments too.
Besides financial and job security improvements, the teachers also received special clauses in the contract. Bonuses were given to retiring teachers who served a certain number of years in the district. A transfer clause was included, which established guidelines between the teachers transferring from the East to West campus.
Although the strike provided a better contract for the teachers, they didn’t get everything they asked for. An RIF clause was not included, which provides security to teacher whose class does not have enough students enrolled. Other than that, the two sides came to an agreement on most issues.
But, hard feelings persisted for a couple of years between the Board and the association, according to Jones. He said that they “were really firm in trying to save money.” This put the teachers in a tough spot – they were taking a big risk by striking because inflation was high at the time. They needed to get a secure contract as soon as possible in order to ensure their salary would not get devalued by the economy.
In 2013, a tentative agreement has been reached between the teachers and the Board of Education. The voting took place Wednesday Sep. 23 (after paper went to press),and was conducted at the both the East and West campuses. The teachers union met on Sep. 20 to discuss the terms of the tentative agreement.