The last email many teachers in Illinois may have received from Illinois Education Association President Al Llorens arrived on Monday, September 15th. The subject line read “Exercise caution on social media.” In it, he referred to “an aggressive effort underway - nationwide and in Illinois - to target individual educators based on their speech. This targeting has included calls for discipline or termination, and even violent threats to school campuses. We are aware of protests being planned at some school board meetings, schools and district administrative offices.” It is understandable, but also somehow beyond belief that this email existed. It’s a sign of just how frayed the social fabric is that a public union’s leader needs to urge restraint on protected speech from members of that union. That fabric tore a little bit more on Friday afternoon with the news that Al Llorens had died on Thursday in Springfield.
Rest in Peace, Al.
Just about a year ago, I met Al for the first time. In the middle of September 2024, IEA emailed its members to announce that it had “partnered with a group called Operation Swing State to help connect our members with Harris/Walz election efforts in Wisconsin and Michigan. On Friday, the IEA Board of Directors voted to concur with the NEA’s decision to recommend Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for president and vice president in the upcoming election. As you probably know, most believe the decision on who succeeds President Joe Biden in the oval office will come down to seven swing states – Wisconsin and Michigan are two of the seven. If you’d like to help in the effort, IEA and Operation Swing State will be providing buses to bring volunteers to Wisconsin and Michigan to knock on the doors of fellow likely voters and encourage them to vote for the Harris/Walz ticket.” A few weeks later, I was with teachers and IEA leaders, including Al, on a bus to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Local organizers re-routed us to Battle Creek due to a large number of volunteers in and around Kalamazoo (a.k.a. Kamalazoo) that day. We got our assignment and spent the afternoon canvassing a residential area in twos and threes. When we’d finished, the group enlisted my long arms for a group photo before boarding the bus for the trip back to Illinois. Al and I bracket the group, who were all worn from walking for a few hours on an unseasonably warm October day. By the time we were back in Matteson, Al had taken the time to thank each of us on the bus for our time, effort, and energy that day. Only after getting back to my car did I realize that the card he’d given me showed that his title was “IEA President.” It felt cool and special to have it, even if I’d never need to use it.
I spent the next few weekends on buses or in cars with like-minded folks knocking on doors in Wisconsin and Michigan. It broke my fucking heart when Harris and Walz lost.
Coincidentally, there was an effort underway to fix public pensions in Illinois and IEA was once again chartering buses from all over the state for a rally in Springfield during a special session about the pension reform. Al was one of the first people I saw when I got off the bus. He recognized me immediately from canvassing efforts in Michigan and welcomed me to Springfield for the rally. I realize it had only been a few weeks and that I was one of the tallest people on the bus each time. Still, it felt good to be remembered and seen.
As with the presidential election, the pension reform effort fell short of expectations. Al continued to send encouraging emails and to remind educators of the stakes of the reform. In all cases, it was clear that educators have a voice as part of a collective bargaining unit and that we should be unafraid to use it. His final email is not an indictment of his judgment or a cowardly change of heart. It is a reflection of how much the United States has changed in the past 12 months. I can think of no better way to honor his memory than to use your voice to speak back against the creeping and creepy fascism we are facing in this country. If you’re not already protected by a labor union, what can you do to organize one near you?
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