See You Next Year

Colleagues, this is our last newsletter of the calendar year, so I would like to leave you with some thoughts that occurred to me during and after our recent Collective Bargaining Conference.

Among the highlights of the conference was the keynote address by former Gov. Jim Thompson.

The governor was invited to speak because he is a key figure in IEA history, having signed into law in 1983 the state's first comprehensive collective bargaining bill for education employees.

According to Gov. Thompson, the law giving teachers collective bargaining rights and the right to strike "was one of the most important pieces of legislation any governor of this state ever signed."

Jim Thompson put his political future on the line because he agreed with IEA that collective bargaining would benefit all and would engender labor peace in Illinois school districts.

In my opinion, it was the most important bill in the 150-year history of IEA, and having Gov. Thompson present, along with so many key figures in our organization's history, including past presidents Mel Smith, Reg Weaver, Lee Betterman and Bob Haisman, was a great way to kick off the IEA Sesquicentennial celebration.

We were still enjoying the afterglow of the 2003 CB when we heard the sad news that one of the political giants of our lifetime, former U.S. Senator Paul Simon, had passed away following heart surgery in Springfield.

In the days that followed the news of his death, one word -- integrity -- was used more than any other to describe the way Paul Simon conducted himself as a public servant over a career that spanned four decades.

You might not be aware that Senator Simon was one of us! He was proud to be a member of the Southern Illinois University Faculty Association and certainly we were proud of his relationship with IEA.

In contrast to politicians who carefully construct their images, Paul Simon's credo was, "What you see is what you get." It was that trait, that integrity and lack of pretense that allowed him to be elected time and time again despite being consistently more liberal than his constituencies.

The political courage of Gov. Jim Thompson and Sen. Paul Simon should be an inspiration to us all. We cannot be afraid to take unpopular stands. When we know what is right, and what is in the best interest of our constituencies, we need to get out and sell the program.

Our members look to us for leadership. In 2004, let's resolve to give them our best.

I wish each of you a Happy and Safe New Year.

Anne