Illinois Education Association

@ieanea.bsky.social

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At 135,000 members strong, IEA is the largest union in Illinois. We believe in putting students and their public education first.

Justice Fact. March of the Mill Children. July 7, 1903. Black and white photo of Mother Jones walking down the street in a long dress and hat. Children are holding signs and American flags.
NEAtoday. Student teacher from Illinois elected NEA Aspiring Educators Chairperson. Image of Stephanie (right) next to a fellow aspiring educator. Stephanie holds an apple award and the other educator holds a certificate with Stephanie's name on it.
Celebrating Juneteenth Freedom Day. Illinois Education Association.
Justice fact. Stay out protest of boston public schools. Image of a pastor, students and families during a protest holding signs. One sign says "I will demonstrate until the Boston School Committee takes action on racial imbalance in Boston schools. Will you join us? June 18, 1963.
Art, Joy and Solidarity - a creativity and unionism retreat. June 16-18, Allerton Park and Retreat Center. Images of people smiling and laughing in nature, giving high fives and painting.
IEA President Karl Goeke with ISU workers. Picket signs say Respect! Fair pay! On strike! Unfair labor practices. AFSCME.
Lobby Day, March 25, 2026. Education Support Professionals. Green to blue gradient background with image of Illinois Capitol building. Education Support Professional logo.
From ACLU Nationwide: BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended their directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide. This a victory for academic freedom and education equity.
The best way to spread union cheer is to organize and persevere. Three images of IEA members. 1. Speaking at the mic at a board meeting. 2. (bottom) members in yellow union t-shirts at the board meeting, the shirts say "ACE." 3. (right) IEA members pack the Naperville board meeting wearing red. A sign says We support Naperville Educators.
Welcome new IEA Officer. Gladys Márquez. Secretary Treasurer. Illinois Education Association.
2025 EMELT Conference. Ethnic Minority Emerging Leadership Training. November 7-9, 2025. Purple graphic with green text.
The following statement is attributable to Illinois Education Association (IEA) President Al Llorens: “The Illinois Education Association (IEA) firmly believes that all educators have the right to speak out on matters of public concern. Like all Americans, teachers, higher educators and school support staff do not surrender their rights when they begin working at a school, college or university. This fundamental principle is essential to the foundation of our public education system. 
BREAKING. Naperville Unit Education Association has reached a tentative agreement with D203.
Around 50 paraprofessionals wear teal T-shirts in front of the U46 welcome center.
Educators are seated at two tables with blue table cloth. The table cloth says LEAD300.
Solidarity is power! ESPs and Certified Staff of Wood River Education Association secure a win by working together. Wood River EA members stand together with IEA Secretary Treasurer Gina Harris. Maroon and golden yellow graphic with an IEA Stronger United logo.
"Unions protect the educators and they protect our workplace. They make sure we're safe and we're supported. So if we're protected and able to do our job successfully, then our students can get their best education." - Jenny Sanchez, elementary school teacher.
July 17 Good Trouble Lives On. GoodTroubleLivesOn.org
IEA members cheer on Bill Farmer after the announcement that he has been elected to the NEA Executive Committee. He is wearing a blazer and a dreamer t shirt with a butterfly.
Photo of a student newspaper article from The Claw. We Run on Communication. Editorial: nonrenewal shouldn't come with noncommunication. Timing is everything. When the District 7 administration decided to non-renew 16 teachers, citing a "commitment to financial efficiency" in their press release, the staff of The Claw felt it was in poor taste to vote on costly projects at the same meeting that they decided to dismiss faculty. It's no surprise, then, that droves of District 7 faculty, staff and supporters showed up at the March 24 meeting - the signal that administration seemingly sent was that expenditures like resurfacing the track and turfing the softball field were more important than keeping quality teachers employed. Ultimately, there was no escaping the public connecting the new projects and layoffs and attributing one for causing the other despite funding coming from different budgetary allotments. Beyond that, some of the items being voted on, such as furthering the discussions of a seven-period day, still have questions regarding the price tag, according to Mollie Rice, a calculus teacher and the Edwardsville Education Association vice president. For a school board that is committed to financial efficiency, pursuing massive, district-wide changes with unknown costs seems drastic. Even the necessary expenditures come at steep costs. While they initially voted against budgeting $2.3 million to resurface the track and softball field, they approved it at a Special Board of Education meeting April 7. Then-board member, now board president, Bob Paty spoke at the March 24 meeting about careless spending. "A lot of those expenditures I have complained about as well," Paty said. "It has not gone unnoticed, the optics going into this meeting ... The budget is not being adhered to when we come up with these plans. It's, too much." (full article could not fit in alt text section)
Pink to orange gradient graphic. Teaching and learning. Virtual book studies. Summer Session 2025. Register by June 8.
Members get ready. Week of Action. April 29-May 1. Write and call your lawmakers.
Educators hold signs that say protect our most vulnerable students and public school strong
An educator holds a sign that says protect our LGBTQ+ students
March 19: Walk-In to protect our students & families. Organize a walk-in at your school.
An educator in the Illinois State Capitol holds up a sign that says Let me retire before I expire
Screenshot of spotify playlist with the Undo Tier 2 logo. The titles of the songs in the playlist write out a sentence: Happy Tuesday, it's time 2 undo tier 2. Fix the broken system. Respect educators.
A group of Education Support Professionals at the IEA RA
Retired educators hold up a sign that says Repeal GPO/WEP
Educator holds a sign that says I don't want to be the history I am teaching. Undo Tier 2.
Text ACTION to 48744 to contact your senators
An educator in a black dress accepts an award for teaching excellence. They are speaking at a microphone in front of a vibrant, colorful backdrop screen.
National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. February 3-7, 2025.
The following statement is attributable to IEA President Al Llorens: "We will not stand by and let our students, our families and our communities be torn apart. No family should be criminalized for wanting a safe and better future. In this country, every child has the right to learn at our public schools, colleges and universities. And here in Illinois, it is the lEA's mission to make sure ALL children have access to an equitable, high-quality public education.
Home is here. EDUCATOR WEBINAR Thursday, January 16 at 7pm EST No matter our race, origin or background, most of us would do whatever it takes to make a better life for our families. We work, sacrifice, pack up everything and move to put food on the table, provide for our loved ones, or send our kids to good schools. But extreme politicians are proposing sweeping policy changes, including separating families, and blocking what our families need to thrive. We're onto them. Join us for this important webinar to prepare so our students and educators have the support to learn and thrive with safety and dignity. Learn what changes are being proposed in the Trump Administration, ways to prepare including Know Your Rights training, understanding current protections and how we can come together to safeguard our students' freedom to thrive.
The fight continues. Undo Tier 2. Red graphic with white text. The following statement is attributable to IEA President Al Llorens: Today, the Illinois General Assembly left Springfield without taking any action to Undo Tier Two. This does not mean the fight is over. It just means we will move forward into the Spring session and work even harder for change. Thank you for all you did over the course of the past year to draw attention to this unfair second tier of the state's public employee pension systems. Last April, union members sent nearly 60,000 emails and made 5,000 phone calls to Illinois lawmakers. We held webinars to educate our members about the two tiers and thousands participated. In September, thousands turned out to the eight town halls held across the state to draw attention to this issue. In November, we packed the Illinois State Capitol and the area outside it. And on Monday, more than 6,000 calls were made to legislators in an effort get them to vote on the Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your advocacy. Ultimately, lawmakers ran out of time during a condensed session to get the measure passed. All this work was not for naught. We will take the momentum created by your actions and work in the Spring legislative session to demand action. We need you to continue to help in this effort. Please reach out to your elected state legislators and watch for updates on what you can do to help create a more fair and equitable retirement system. We look forward to effecting change in coalition with our labor partners and together as IEA.