The legislation, approved with bipartisan support in a 45-7 vote, would recognize a Chicago principals and assistant principals union and put them across the table from senior district leadership for contract negotiations. The bill, if signed into law, would not allow a principals’ union to strike.
A statement Friday from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office said, “The Governor is looking forward to reviewing it now that it is headed to his desk.”
If the bill is signed and Chicago principals are able to move forward with a bargaining unit, they will join districts such as New York City, San Diego and Denver where principals are unionized. Denver principals unionized in 2020.
Principals have fought for years for the right of union representation, arguing they’re in no-man’s land without a say in broad district policies along with an inability to collectively bargain their working conditions.
The bill would not take away local school councils’ power to hire principals or decide whether or not to renew their contracts.
Troy LaRaviere, a former CPS principal and president of the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association since 2016, has strongly advocated for unionization rights for years. He said the finish line is the governor’s signature, “but we’ve gone further than we’ve come before.” Similar bills have advanced before only to fail in one chamber or the other.
“I’ve put 40 years of my life into this,” LaRaviere said in an interview Friday.