In a meeting with fewer than 30 teachers in attendance, Kevin Coughlin, president of Colorado Springs (Colo.) Education Association, last week announced his union would go out on a one-day strike Oct. 8.
This announcement comes after threats and attempts to recruit teachers to support the strike since last spring.
This is an absolute betrayal of the students in District 11, as Oct. 8 falls within the three-day window to file free college applications, with the last day of the week already being a teacher work day.
The date also just happens to be two days before ballots are mailed for the school board elections, evident by the union’s public announcement that its members would not be picketing that day.
Instead, they will be knocking doors in support of CSEA-funded candidates in the upcoming election.
The real tragedy of this strike is that the reasons behind it perfectly encapsulate everything wrong with teacher unions in America today.
This strike was not called over low wages or unacceptable working conditions. Instead, the workers will walk off the job in a dispute filed by CSEA with the Colorado Department of Labor over a variety of issues, including losing the right to payroll deduction of union dues and the union president receiving a bonus of more than $50,000 — paid by the district — without actually teaching in a classroom.
Coughlin confirmed this in an article published by the Colorado Springs Gazette on Dec. 15, 2024.
It noted, “Coughlin anticipates that many of the amenities he’s granted in his current position with the union, like access to certain buildings and meetings, and the ability to be out of the classroom will be lost.”
When it comes to life as a teacher in District 11, things have never been better. Since 2022, teachers have seen a 20 percent increase in starting salary along with major recurring raises, bonuses and lower premiums, and reduced deductibles on healthcare plans.
Combine the investment in teachers with the $200 million investments in building improvements and classroom technology and now the district’s flexibility to reward teachers without the hindrance of the master agreement and it’s clear D11 is quickly becoming one of the premier school districts to work for teachers in America.
In a time of unprecedented teacher vacancies and a severe shortage of people entering the profession, D11 actually started the school year with every position filled.
The union has deceived the teachers of D11 at every turn in an attempt to garner support for its so-called strike.
Its leaders have lied about everything from job security to saying the teachers won’t even get to have lunch if the master agreement is not reinstated.
Most recently, they’ve been telling the teachers this strike was sanctioned by the Department of Labor when, in fact, the agency’s leaders have simply declined to intervene, noting they were never asked to by either party.
The letter from the Colorado Department of Labor was posted in full on the union’s Facebook page.
So what is CSEA’s strike really about? The answer is clear — political power.
It is too common for teacher unions throughout the country to prioritize a radical political agenda over the students, and it’s sad to see CSEA is no better.
Don’t confuse the great teachers of District 11 with National Education Association, to which CSEA belongs.
The community’s real teachers will be in the classroom on Oct. 8 while the union activists, under the guise of strike, will be knocking on your doors to get you to vote followed by a picnic in the park.
This op-ed was originally published in the print edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette on September 25, 2025.
