In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, IEA along with other NEA affiliates began adding staff as the UniServ program began.  In order to attract staff to the IEA, the IEA management and Board of Directors in the Spring of 1970 gave voluntary recognition to the Illinois Education Association Staff Organization (“IEASO”) as the exclusive representative for the professional staff.  A couple of months later the IEA Board of Directors granted voluntary recognition to the Illinois Education Association Secretaries Association (“IEASA”) as the exclusive representative for the associate staff employed by the IEA. In the 1970’s both IEASO and IEASA joined the National Staff Organization.

IEASO filed for formal recognition by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the spring of 1977.

In 1984, IEASO successfully lobbied for the legislation that created the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA). Prior to the enactment of IELRA, IEASO members helped pass legislation that would allow for recognition of exclusive representation status, but without the requirement to collectively bargain.  Under this legislation, IEASO members organized hundreds of locals statewide with the help of NEA funding and staff.  Many of these “HB701” locals waited for Jan. 1, 1984 to then submit demands to bargain under the new law (IELRA).  Many regions around the state more than doubled the number of bargaining locals literally overnight.

In 1986, IEASA changed its name to the Illinois Education Association Support Staff Union (IEASSU) and shortly thereafter a merger agreement was reached between IEASO, IEASSU and IEA, whereby IEASO would be the exclusive representative for both the Associate Staff bargaining unit and the Professional Staff bargaining unit.

Through the hard work of many IEASO members during the late 1980s and the 1990s, IEA organized an incredible amount of new locals. IEA went from less than 40,000 members to upwards of 100,000 in that time frame. IEASO members were out all the time meeting with new educators and signing up new IEA members. So many that the IEA became the largest union in Illinois. The IEA continues to hold that honor today.

On June 27, 2018, the strength of all unions was called into question when the United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in the Janus v. AFSCME case. The majority ruled in favor of former state employee Mark Janus and his anti-union cronies, former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Policy Institute. The court’s decision means bargaining unit members can choose not to pay fair share fees but can still get the same benefits dues-paying members receive under the union’s collective bargaining agreement. IEASO members quickly shifted back to our organizing roots and made sure all IEA members had the support and resources needed to keep their locals strong. Despite the Janus decision, the IEA still remains the largest union in Illinois.