Unions, contractors resume work on some school projects

Striking construction workers have relaxed their grip a bit on some school projects whose tight completion deadlines would seem to have been their strongest source of leverage in negotiating a favorable settlement with contractors.

Naperville Unit District 203 and DuPage High School District 88 recently negotiated individual agreements with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 to resume work, while Park Ridge-Niles Elementary District 64 did the same with the Laborers District Council of Chicago and Vicinity.

"I don't think either side wanted to put schools at the center of this argument," District 203 Superintendent Mark Mitrovich said.

All three school districts said any further work stoppage would have imperiled their ability to provide services during the school year. In exchange for resumption of work, they each committed to the use of union labor for a set number of years - five for District 64, seven for District 203 and 10 for District 88.

"I think (union leaders) really understood the importance of schools," District 64 Superintendent Philip Bender said. "To not have those buildings open up would have caused a huge issue, not only to the district but also the parents."

Bender believes the potential impact to the community might have caused a loss of sympathy toward the striking workers.

"I think it was a win-win for all parties," Bender said, of the agreement.

Local 150 spokesman Ed Maher said the agreements reached were the product of "extreme circumstances" in the affected districts and that the union would not be making a general practice of negotiating such individual agreements.

Though the three districts felt that committing to the future use of union labor was not a huge concession, Maher said it was seen as a big positive by the union.

But District 88 Superintendent Steve Humphrey said that even though union labor is commonly used by school districts, there are many reasons not to enter multiyear agreements lightly.

Professor Robert Bruno, director of the University of Illinois' Labor Education Program, said it was understandable why the unions wouldn't necessarily exploit these school districts as a strong-arm tactic to pressure contractors to settle.

"There's a lot to be gained from reaching a settlement that doesn't squeeze an employer," Bruno said. "And I would expect the relationship with these school districts was probably defined by a certain level of honesty, trust and goodwill. The unions also probably sensed a certain level of concern among taxpayers."

Bruno said there's a popular misconception among the general public that unions act in monolithic ways.

"Unions - at least the unions that manage to survive - are constantly calibrating all the factors involved in a particular decision, year to year," Bruno said.