The District 219 Board of Education and the Niles Township Federation of Teachers and Support Staff (NTFTSS) voted unanimously to approve the new union contract which allows security guards to be district employees and therefore eligible for union membership. Not all security guards will serve be District employees; new jobs are set to open at the district level for guards to apply.

The newly agreed-upon contract will last four years. The insourcing of security guards will prioritize hiring people who are directly in contact with students, while overnight staff will continue to be outsourced by Per Mar Security Services.

“Safety staff who were having difficulty with getting time off if they were hurt or sick, they felt like they had to come to work because they were worried that Per Mar might actually fire them. We had stories of security staff that were actually being recruited by other districts because the other districts were providing better benefits and better pay,” NTFTSS President and math teacher Matthew Fahrenbacher said.

Guards were unable to speak out against their working conditions due to fear of losing their jobs. Several D219 staff and community members advocated for them at school board meetings.

“I started to go to every school board meeting and speak during the public comment section and I would reference things like the research that the safety and security task force did, since the… security team [was] too afraid to say anything publicly because they are afraid they would be fired,” history teacher Daniel Kosiba said.

As safety staff working for the district, guards will receive many benefits, which they did not receive prior to being union members.

“Security under support staff will receive benefits like better health insurance, better access to having time off, and better access to retirement plans,” West building representative of support staff Gloria Kim said.

With the recent motion to insource at District 219, many members of the Niles West community have expressed their support and relief for their co-workers.

“I’m overjoyed [for insourcing] because [security guards] are members of our school community who have done so much for us and have gotten so little in return, and have stuck with it…So many people have just quit because the pay is so bad [and] the conditions are so bad,” Kosiba said.

While the new agreement will not benefit all security guards, the overall reaction of Niles West’s staff is positive, citing the decision as a step forward in the treatment of security employees.

“I think it’s a big win for our schools, for our safety staff, so that they can be district employees and get the benefits that District 219 employees have and to build a career here,” Fahrenbacher said.

The insourcing process is presumed to start during the second semester of this school year and will be completed at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.