HEA President Julie McLaughlin said wouldn't say Thursday why teachers rejected the accord. "We're going to keep tight-lipped," she said. "We're not going to negotiate in the newspapers," said McLaughlin, possibly harking to a 2008 Distict strike in which both sides leveled the charge.
D158 Board Vice President Don Drzal couldn't say what the problem was either. "They haven't told us yet," he said. Drzal's heading contract talks for the Board since President Mike Skala is married to a District teacher and recused himself. The day for the next negotiating session hasn't been set yet, Drzal said.
Negotiators called for a State mediator last month but canceled the request last week when they reached the agreement which union members rejected. McLaughlin said she thought a new one could be reached soon. "We're not at an impasse," she said.
The District's negotiations are happening now in the shadow of an increasingly bitter teachers' strike in Chicago but Drzal said there was really no comparison between the two. "They've got more school buildings than we've got teachers," he said.
McLaughlin said another difference was, "Teachers will continue to educate the students of 158."
3 comments:
If they have been negotiating since Spring and still have not come to an agreement the teachers will sign, I question why these highly paid individuals do not jusr quit and go elsewhere.
Looks like the public and the board,have had their chains yanked.....again.....as happened with the previous strike.
Parents, get over thinking teachers are your friends. You are the employer. You live in today's financial reality, so should they.
The difference is that our teachers are some of the lowest paid teachers in the county, in one of the highest growing areas in the state. D300 teachers are making more than D158, and so are many of the other area school districts.
Well just because D300 teachers make more (?) if the D158 teachers are not satisfied with their wages and jobs they can look elsewhere to obtain gainful employment as others in the private sector, or they can apply to work in D300 or again elsewhere. There should be no guarantee tick for tac on wages.
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