TAG Interim Executive Director Miko Lee met with teaching artists Michael O’Toole, Christopher Walz and Dona Benkert to discuss the process of forming a union at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.

Miko: Thanks so much for sharing your story about the collective action being taken by teaching artists at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. You all are leading the way in creating a union made up of teaching artists, and we want to find out more. 

What is the impetus that led to the call for unionization? 

Chris: The impetus for our organizing came after a long period of slow marginalization of teachers and the education department within the larger organization. Under leadership at that time, a new building had been built that placed us in financial difficulties. After that debt was retired, the school was having trouble filling all the new space it had built for itself. A series of price increases were implemented nearly every year since 2012, while teacher raises were spotty, skipping years. Teachers were feeling they had less of a voice in the decision-making process of the organization. One of our teachers had worked with “ARISE” CHICAGO at another school and had success with their help. We decided to contact them. 

Michael: Also, from 2010 (or so) onward, there was major growth in both size and compensation at the upper management level while teaching artists’ wages stagnated and the school suffered loss of enrollment. One of the things that you learn early on about organizing is that you have to rally folks around issues that are both widely felt and deeply felt. Arise Chicago helped us to determine two main demands 

1) wages and benefits, and 

2) a voice in the direction of the school.

By law, the Employer has to negotiate wages and benefits. They do not have to negotiate over things like shared governance. Much of our campaign has focused on encouraging them to see that it is in their best interest, as well as in the school’s best interest, to include us in policy decisions. It’s never easy to concede power.

Miko: Who helped you along in this process?

Dona: Arise Chicago, an organization that assists workers in getting better working conditions through education, organizing and public awareness. Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) provides support in all aspects of organizing from the first steps of forming a union to achieving a signed contract.  They provide legal assistance as well as overall contract campaign strategies. Students have played an important role since the beginning. Without their support and belief that teaching artists need good working conditions and a fair contract we could not have come this far.

Michael: At the beginning of this process, we questioned whether we belonged in a “real” teachers union. IFT made us feel welcome and treated us like colleagues. While many do, not all of us have the academic background one usually finds at accredited schools. IFT told us that if our boss calls us teachers, that was good enough for them. That was a watershed moment for me, anyway.

Miko: How has the Shelter in Place impacted your organizing?

Dona: While the shift to online platforms has presented technological difficulties, it has also helped bring the teaching community together. Given our diverse schedules it is now easier for teaching artists to log into an online meeting and converse with those they do not normally see on campus. It has taken a bit of creativity and patience at the bargaining table but we are making progress.

Michael: I’m with Dona. One of the most challenging aspects of our organizing continues to be the fact that people teach at all hours, seven days a week. We can also be a transient tribe of folks, teaching one session and then off touring the next. Getting people together has been hard. Hell, just finding out who works here in a given session is like pulling teeth. Being on Zoom has made some of that a lot easier. We have gotten quite a bit done in the last few months building out the different committees, engaging more members, and farming out the work.

Miko: Where are you in the process now?

Dona: We are about one third of the way in negotiating our first contract.  So far we have concentrated mostly on the “boilerplate” items that need to be in every contract.  We are just approaching the meatier items such as wages, benefits, intellectual property and class cancellation policies. 

Michael: We are also amping up our contract campaign. We have not been very public until these last two months or so, and we have always tried to take the high road. Recently, there were several moves, on the part of the administration, taken against teachers that could not be left unanswered. We began a social media campaign that highlighted our issues, made demands for an online teaching stipend, and shined a little light on some management practices that we strongly questioned. We got immediate results. The School is very concerned about its image, as it should be. We also got a very positive response from our community of students, parents, and colleagues. We now have a Friends of OTTO Facebook group that is growing by the day. 

We have to walk a fine line. Words and actions have to have a well-defined goal in mind. It can’t get personal. We don’t want people disciplined or fired. We recognize that we not only have to win the contract, we have to win the peace that follows. We love our School and we want everyone to win. However, it was long past time for action.

Miko: What has surprised you along this journey?

Dona: The tremendous student and community support OTTO has received. The time and energy required to research every detail of the contract negotiations

Learning that there are so many others in the same position who want to improve their working conditions. We had believed that no other organization was similar to us.

Michael: Watching so much democracy in action. Building a local is like starting a small town. We’ve had elections, written and ratified a constitution, formed committees, voted on issues, and learned that it’s a lot like politics. It’s about people and the one on one relationships that you build with your members, always seeking consensus while trying to somehow move the process along in an effective manner. It’s about making tough decisions and on the spot deals at the bargaining table that you always hope are the right decisions for your members.

Miko: How has your work impacted the field of teaching artistry?

Dona: Our determination, stamina and hard work have shown that it is possible for teachers to join together to achieve a better workplace.

Chris: Our work has begun to be recognized outside of the old town school. In April OTTO leadership was contacted by a teacher from the Swallow Hill music school in Denver Colorado. Because of the pandemic they had shut their doors with no intentions of providing any online lessons. Teachers from Swallow Hill had heard about our union and were interested in organizing. We set up a meeting between ourselves and a representative from the IFT to begin the process.

Michael: I think that it’s shown that it’s possible to herd cats. All kidding aside, we are not the easiest kind of people to get to agree on things. We’re artists and we all have opinions and we can talk an idea to death while the walls are falling down around us. We did it for years at meeting after meeting. But we were able to get enough of us behind the plan to make it real. We work every day to continue to earn that trust from our members. I truly believe that if we hadn’t already been organized before the pandemic, the School would be finding itself in a very different place right now.

Miko: What steps do you recommend for other TAs that may want to follow your lead?

Chris: If you believe in the organization you work for, and want to change it in a positive direction for the better, organizing is the strongest step you can take.

Michael: Do a little due diligence/professional development for yourself and your colleagues. You’re not re-inventing the wheel here. Learn about unions. There are lots of models, but we went with a very traditional one. We still have a lot of autonomy in how we run our local, but we also have the support, both financially and morally, of a nationwide organization, The American Federation of Teachers. I believe that the national unions are becoming much more interested in “folks like us”. There’s a lot of free help out there. 

Miko: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Michael: While everyone seems to think that we are the first group of Teaching Artists to take this path, we aim not to be the last. We invite you to join us. It takes a committed core of a few people to get started. And then it’s just like teaching art – you lure them in, one at a time, telling them how much fun it’s all going to be! And a lot of hard work as well.

In Solidarity, Michael, Chris & Dona

More information:

Folk and Blues: The Tribulations of The Old Town School | Newcity Music

https://www.arisechicago.org/otto_press_release

Additional information: TAs at the NY Phil in discussion with local 802