The earliest Township High School Dist. 211 teachers could strike if a new contract is not reached is Monday, Dec. 17.þþUnion President John Braglia previously told the Journal the union could strike as early as Dec. 13 if a new deal is not reached. Teachers have worked without a contract since the last one expired on June 30.þþA strike would result in all classes, practices, competitions, club meetings, and school-sponsored events being canceled. Additionally, student final exams are scheduled to begin Wednesday, Dec. 19 and will need to be rescheduled, if necessary.þþAccording to the school board, their negotiating team has met in good faith with the union and a federal mediator since first negotiating in October 2017.þþThe board states that this past Nov. 18, they issued a formal proposal to the union, but the union the following day, rejected that proposal and filed an official Notice of Intent to Strike.þþHowever, the board states both sides are continuing to work to reach an agreement.þþ“The board and union will continue to exchange information throughout the current week in the hope of reaching an agreement,” the board said in a statement.þþHowever, according to Braglia, there has been very little movement from the board to show any good faith effort to move forward.þþ“Despite some small discussions between the superintendent and the union president last week, the board does not seem committed to moving forward,” Braglia said. “The board’s position within these discussions has been regressive in nature. The board’s position continues to ignore union concessions equating to $730,000 in savings. These types of senseless obstacles in the negotiation process is disheartening to say the least.”þþAccording to Braglia, another correction that needs to be addressed is the board’s “blatantly” false statement that “the union failed to submit their proposal for public posting as required by statute.”þþBraglia said Andrew Cantrell, field service director for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, confirmed with a member of the Labor Board that the school board did receive the union’s most recent offer for public posting on Nov. 20.þþ“We invoked public posting on Nov. 16, provided notice to the district that same day, and provided them with our most recent offer that morning via email,” Braglia said. “The union did not miss a deadline. Rather, the district took 10 days instead of the required seven to provide its most recent offer to the Labor Board. The delay mentioned on the district’s website was caused by the district – not the union.”þþBraglia emphasized the board has the funds to provide below cost of living raises and the operational changes the union is requesting in their proposal, yet they refuse to do so.þþ“The base raises we are asking for are below CPI, which allows the board to levy at the CPI and pay the staff below the CPI creating a surplus for the board,” Braglia said. “Also if the board were to accept our proposal as presented, it would still have the financial capability to provide every taxpayer in this district with operational tax relief.”þþThe union is asking for a 2% increase in teachers pay retroactive to July 1, 2018, and cost of living increases in the following three years, which are expected to be around 2% as well.þþAside from salaries, the union is also asking for the hiring of an additional administrator at Palatine High School, additional social workers, additional psychologists, and lowered caseloads for college and career counselors.þþThe union is also asking for tuition reimbursement of anywhere between 39% to 86% depending on the college, while the board is proposing similar percentage reimbursements from the current contract.þþLastly, the union is also asking for a longevity stipend increase of an average of $150 a year for teacher assistants.þþThe next regular school board meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13 at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates. Union officials are expected to make one last effort to reach a deal prior to a potential strike.
Source: www.journal-topics.com
