Why you should care about labor disputes

Workers in Community Unit District 300 have a fever, and the only cure is more unionization.

If you haven't been paying attention, you should start now. Three groups of employees in District 300, among the few groups in the district not already in unions, are involved in efforts to form them: food service workers, teachers at a charter school and bus drivers.

Together, this group includes a few hundred employees who take your kids to school and bring them home, serve their lunches and teach their classes.

If this isn't enough to stir your interest, consider this: Bus drivers said this week that a strike is on the table.

If the drivers and their employer are unable to work out their issues, transportation could grind to a halt in District 300, possibly causing school to close temporarily.

Here's what's interesting about the whole situation. I referred the workers earlier as employees in District 300. That's because technically, none of the employees work for the district.

The food-service workers are employed by Aramark, the bus drivers work for Durham School Service and the charter school teachers work for Northern Kane Educational Corp.

So far, the district seems to be taking a laissez-faire approach to the labor disputes. I'm not sure how much longer this position is tenable.

Issues at the charter school have sparked a grass-roots movement of parents and teachers who feel their concerns have not been addressed.

This week, the village of Pingree Grove stepped into the fray. The village is hosting a town hall meeting next week where parents can express their concerns and ask questions about the school.

Pingree Grove has no authority over the charter school. At most, it can use the promise of good relations and cooperation with the village as leverage to encourage change.

But District 300 has a lot more leverage. It holds the Pingree Grove school's charter and can terminate or renegotiate its contracts with Durham and Aramark.

I am not suggesting the district take a position on unionizing.

In fact, it probably isn't in the district's interest to support unionization.

But if there are legitimate issues that need to be resolved -- such as parents who feel they don't have a voice, or workers who feel they have been denied their rights -- perhaps it is time for the district to look into these complaints or to try to mediate.

District 300 Superintendent Ken Arndt recently paid a visit to food service workers at Dundee-Crown High School.

I applaud his effort and encourage him and other district officials to reach out to parents and workers who feel they're getting a raw deal, -- and address some of their issues before they become a major headache for workers, contractors, parents, teachers, kids and the district.