USA : DeKalb teachers union to file intent to strike
However, officials with the union representing the district’s 430 teachers and other professionals plan to file necessary paperwork that would allow them to go on strike before classes start, said T.J.
“We continue to use ournegotiatingtime to put forth creative solutions that will bring us closer to a deal that isfair to our community, our teachers and our students,” Fontana said.
Fontana said that on Friday, a 10-day notice to strike will be filed.
If negotiations set for Friday, and three sessions planned for next week, don’t yield a deal, there’s a chance teachers could be on the picket line before the first bell of the new school year.
District 428 officials said Wednesday that they didn’t know about the union’s plans. State law requires union representatives to provide a copy of the intent-to-strike notice to the district, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, and the Regional Superintendent of Schools.
“We weren’t aware of it until it hit the media,” said Jim Bormann, head of human resources for the district. “But it’s the process. I expected it, because it is the process. What they’re doing is just meeting their statutory obligation. It doesn’t mean that they have to go out on strike.”
Contract negotiations between the district and the union began earlier this year and have yet to yield an agreement. Tensions have increased in the past two weeks as the two sides have released statements blasting the other’s contract offers.
Earlier this week, another milestone on the path to a work stoppage was passed: The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Tuesday posted both sides’ “final offer” after at least 12 negotiation and mediation sessions. Under state law, the offer information must be posted for 14 days before a work stoppage.
The offer postings revealed more context and detail than either side has offered so far. Fontana and Bormann said other offers have been made since the filings – but they declined to provide any details.
The documentation on the labor relations board’s website is dated July 25 for the union and Aug. 2 for the school board. It shows school officials have made proposals that would overhaul the salary structure, lengthen teachers’ work day, and eliminate a perk that provides teachers with a 6 percent pay raise in each of their final four years before retirement.