Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for June 21, 2007 SPY IN THE SKY

School district bugs teachers' lounge!

Spying on union officials?

School's use of camera assailed

By Mary Ann Fergus
Tribune staff reporter

The Illinois Education Association has filed a complaint against a northwest suburban school district after learning a custodian was terminated based on footage from a hidden video surveillance camera in the teachers lounge.

The custodian at a Rolling Meadows elementary school was fired by Palatine-based Community Consolidated School District 15 two weeks ago, an official with the Service Employees International Union said Tuesday. The incident was "non-criminal" in nature and related to exceeding the employee's break time, said Catherine Schutzius, division director for Local 73 of the service employees union. The union has appealed the firing.

District 15 Supt. Robert McKanna said in a statement that the decision "to use such video surveillance is not one we make lightly, but have found it to be occasionally necessary when we have had concern about inappropriate actions occurring on school grounds."

The Illinois Education Association filed an unfair labor practice complaint last week with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on behalf of the Classroom Teachers Council, the local representing District 15's teachers.

The IEA and local teachers union contend that the video surveillance violated the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act and may also be in violation of state and federal laws governing illegal taping of individuals without permission.

From the Arlington Heights Post...

BREAKING STORY: Union: Camera spied on teachers

By MARIO BARTOLETTI Staff Writer

A hidden video camera in the teachers lounge of Willow Bend School secretly recorded school employees, according to a complaint filed with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.

In the complaint filed Friday and obtained Tuesday by Pioneer Press, the Illinois Education Association charged Palatine-based School District 15 with unfair labor practices after teachers found a hidden video camera at the Rolling Meadows elementary school.

The school district has fired at least one employee based on information obtained from the hidden video surveillance, according to union officials.

The union contends that the administration was using the surveillance equipment to get an edge on union bargaining.

"Willow Bend is (union president) Jan Belzer's school. We have a number of activities there -- one of which is union meetings," said Lisa Nuss, executive director of the District 15 Classroom Teachers' Council. "So we have grave concerns with hidden cameras there."

District 15 Superintendent Robert McKanna stated in a written statement Tuesday that video surveillance was used for a short period as part of an ongoing investigation regarding a personnel matter at Willow Bend.

"The decision to use video surveillance is not one we make lightly," McKanna wrote. "But we have found it to be necessary when we have had concerns about inappropriate actions occurring on school grounds."

He stated he could not elaborate on the "inappropriate actions" because they were a personnel matter, but said the suspected actions justified the use of video surveillance.

Teachers found the hidden camera at Willow Bend after receiving an anonymous tip just before the end of the school year on June 6. That's when the union learned a nonunion employee had been terminated based on information gained through the hidden camera, union representatives said.

"Teachers found wires leading to a video recorder," Nuss said. "These kinds of cameras are very small. I haven't seen the camera myself, but I've been told it was drilled somewhere in the ceiling."

On June 8, the union sent a letter to district officials and received a response on June 14 confirming the use of the cameras at Willow Bend as well as two other schools in the district, union officials said.

"They gave us examples of when they were used in the past," Nuss said. "We don't know if that's the full extent of the surveillance or how long it's been going on."

District administration and the union have butted heads several times during the last year. Contentious contract negotiations in the fall nearly led to a strike. The union actively campaigned in the spring School Board elections, which saw a change in leadership. The district also has been plagued by high staff turnover due to financial cuts and retirement incentives. The union continues to cite a lack of trust in the administration and the School Board.

Besides filing the state complaint over video surveillance, the union demanded in its June 8 letter that the school district disclose all past uses of hidden video surveillance; remove all hidden video cameras in the presence of union representatives; provide the union with all video and recorded conversations; cease the practice of using hidden video and other surveillance on all district property; and schedule a meeting with the union to discuss these issues.

The district has not yet agreed to cease the practice, Nuss said, but has agreed to meet with union officials. A date has not been scheduled.

As of Tuesday, McKanna said the district had not received notice of the unfair labor practice complaint.

State union officials filed the complaint on behalf of the local teachers and support staff unions.

"This (video surveillance) is a violation of the Illinois Education Labor Relation Act, which defines the relationship between the employer and the employee," said Amy Kunz, a regional director for Illinois Education Association UniServe, "not only for the (teachers union) but the support staff union. Our concern is that the staff had no knowledge they were under surveillance."

Kunz said electronically recording union members must be negotiated with the union.

State Educational Labor Relations Board Executive Director Victor Blackwell said the board is "a forum where unionized employees, employers, or individuals have a right to file claims."

Once a case is logged, it is assigned to an investigator, Blackwell said. The two parties submit affidavits and give evidence; a hearing is held and a recommendation is made within about 90 days.

Union officials said they have contacted the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, because the district may have violated state and federal laws restricting taping of individuals without their permission.