Storm clouds on horizon in Dist. 15

As a teacher in District 15 for almost 30 years, I remember the strike of 1982. It was preceded two years before by a stunning union victory that left many powerful people in management angry. Rumor had it they vowed revenge the next go-round. Sure enough, in the late summer of '82, the teachers were forced out in a bitter two-week strike that ended in a compromise that pleased neither party. The strike eroded community support and goodwill that took years to rebuild.

Two years ago that same teachers union won a decisive victory against a gaggle of anti-union board members. The two sides stood their ground for months until the board blinked first. Three board members voted not to ratify the tentative agreement, and their anger and bitterness were evident in highly emotional public outbursts after four of their fellows voted to ratify.

Recently the District 15 Board of Education hired a new personnel director, John Fenton. He apparently has never worked a day in a school. But, interestingly, the district spokesman who announced the new hiring did mention that Fenton has had lots of labor-law experience before the National Labor Relations Board. Significantly, one task among many a school district personnel director routinely performs is to sit at the table during negotiations with the union as the administrative voice of the board. You can bet Fenton's past experience was of a kind hostile to unions since Fenton's previous employer was the union-busting Chicago law firm Franczek Sullivan.

So the question arises: Is hiring a labor-law specialist from a union-busting law firm with no education experience the school board's first shot across the bow in future contract negotiations with the teachers? Will history repeat itself? Time will tell, as next year is the final year of the teachers' three-year contract.

I suggest District 15 teachers and its union begin preparations for another ugly fight. It may be payback time.

Roger Fraser

Rolling Meadows