It’s a typical Wednesday at school. Teachers bustle through the hall in bright red shirts as they hurry to their next class or meeting, sparking curiosity among students who can’t help but wonder what all the red’s about. The “Wear Red for Ed” movement started Feb. 2018 when West Virginia teachers were unhappy with their wages and working conditions. The teachers began wearing red to show solidarity and demand better conditions and resources. This quickly spread to other states, turning into a national campaign for educators. 

Also adding fuel to the movement, according to the Mackinac Center, when the Supreme Court ruled on the landmark case, Janus v. AFSCME, unions lost hundreds of thousands of members. The ruling was concerned with “fair share bargaining” and the mandate of non-union members being ruled by the same contract as union members. Politicians found this as a way to break up and fight against unions. 

“The red was a way for teachers to fight back against the Janus case,” President of the Downers Grove Education Association Josh Bodenheimer said.  “I have been at North 15 years, we have not always done this.”

 For District 99 as a whole, wearing red has not always been a pattern. Looking at it from the perspective of just one school, DGN has adapted its own way of representing the movement. The tradition, in the eyes of the students, however, might appear different and symbolize something different. Mary Miller, a senior at DGN, is not entirely sure what the red symbolizes. 

“I think that most of my friends think that red is primarily just a school thing,” senior Mary Miller said. “I figured it was something to do with the teachers’ union, but I have no idea what the red signifies.” 

The red shirt Wednesdays are meant to advocate for better education through better teaching environments, wages, and to support unionized teachers as a whole.  Understanding a union and all of its functions is quite complex when broken down, but it is important to note that teachers might show their support in different ways. Yet, with any movement, participation can differ. 

“I wouldn’t jump to an automatic conclusion, I think there can be several reasons why teachers don’t wear red,” DGN social studies and DGEA member Thomas Saam said. For example, teachers might feel more comfortable wearing dress shirts to school. In fact, 99.6% of all teachers in District 99 are members of the DGEA. This means that there is only one teacher not a part of the association.  

In 2024, the district was looking into outsourcing its CMG employees to a third-party company in hopes of cutting costs. The CMG members felt misrepresented and attempted to stand up and take a stand to prevent this from happening. This is where the DGEA comes in. Association members made a call to action at the next board meeting, standing together against this idea. 

“These are our people, we are all here together.”  In the following weeks, the district ultimately decided against outsourcing CMG employees because of the action the DGEA took against this issue. The red represents the unity between the teachers and what they will do to stand for what they believe. 

 But their actions go much deeper than just negotiating wages. What people do not realize is that at the heart of the movement, the DGEA pushes for fairness; the board members of the union are not just negotiating for themselves, but for all members of the community. “We stand firm and together.”