Support Council of District 39 v. Educational Labor Relations Board

**Union Loses Fight to Include Network Manager in Bargaining Unit** The Support Council of District 39, a union representing school employees, wanted to include the network manager position at Wilmette School District No. 39 in their bargaining unit. The school district opposed this, arguing the network manager should be excluded because the role involves access to confidential information related to labor relations. The Educational Labor Relations Board sided with the school district, ruling that the network manager position qualifies as a "confidential employee" under Illinois labor law and therefore cannot be part of the union. The union appealed this decision to court, but the Illinois appellate court upheld the board's ruling in 2006. **What This Means for Workers:** This decision clarifies that employees who have access to confidential labor relations information—like contract negotiations, grievance procedures, or union strategies—can be excluded from union membership. For workers, this means that certain positions, particularly those involving IT access to sensitive communications or HR functions, may not have union representation rights. If you work in a role where you handle confidential employee or labor relations data, you might not be eligible to join or be represented by a union, even if other employees in similar positions are unionized.