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After three bargaining sessions this week failed to produce a new contract, union officials announced Thursday night that Naperville School District 203 teachers will go on strike Tuesday.
The Naperville Unit Education Association said in a news release that the school board’s most recent proposal represented a major step backward.
“We have always said a strike is our last resort,” union President Ross Berkley said in a statement. “However, after months of bargaining, overwhelming community support and the board’s refusal to make meaningful progress, we have reached a point where we may have no other choice. As a result, we have set our official strike date.”
The union’s decision to send its members to the picket line came after its third bargaining session of the week ended Thursday night without an agreement.
Berkley said the union wanted to make sure the community had as much time as possible to make arrangements for their children. The union represents more than 1,500 teachers and licensed staff and has been working without a contract since June 30. Contract negotiations began in February.
The union’s statement said teachers will strike Tuesday unless the board reverses course and offers a fair agreement that “values educators, supports our students and provides the stability our community deserves.”
Berkley said the board’s latest proposal is significantly lower than its previous base salary proposals.
Union members voted to authorize a strike on Aug. 13 — the legal step necessary in advance of a walkout — and rallied at two school board meetings this month to drum up support for a fair contract. At the meeting Monday, teachers, parents and students spoke for more than two hours in support a new contract for the teachers.
Union representatives said negotiations are continuing in an effort to reach an agreement and avert a strike. The two sides have been talking with the assistance of a federal mediator and are to meet again Friday.
District officials have said the board is committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement that is fair to both educators and taxpayers.
Board President Charles Cush previously released a video message in which he said the union’s requests are not financially feasible and that the offer being made by the board would ensure the district’s teachers would be among the highest compensated in the region.
Thursday night, District 203 officials said the board is committed to reaching a fair, fiscally responsible solution that focuses on keeping students in school.
“Our top priority remains our students and keeping them in classrooms,” Cush said in a district news release. “We are committed to moving forward together. The strength of our district has always come from the unity between our educators and our community, and we are dedicated to preserving that.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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Michelle Mullins
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