Hard to believe it has been that long, but twenty years ago, October 17, 1994, Liz and I woke up and drove to Round Lake. This time it was not to teach, but to walk the picket lines as after years of concessions to the school board and administration, it came time to pay the piper as it were.
The school board never negotiated in good faith in the months leading up to the strike and the months after it began. It was their intention to "Break the Union." That didn't happen.
We ended up staying out on the picket lines until December 13th, our first day back in the classroom. That is 38 school days that we missed, the second longest in Illinois history.
The Union stood strong and weathered the attack and in the end received most of what was sought.
Today, Liz and I are going to drive to Waukegan, Illinois, and walk the line again, this time for the Waukegan teachers as their strike enters its 11th day.
I found my "Don't Tread On me" flag that I carried throughout the strike and it will once again float over the Tread Upon.
It Was Quite an Experience, One That No Teacher Should Have to Go Through. --RoadDog
Being an account of some things I'm interested in, what I'm doing, and reflections on my past, especially music.
Listen to this man. Seven years of college, you know. Trying to reason with 2020 and, now, 2022.
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