Dist. 50, union carry on debate

Daily Herald ^ | October 01, 2003 October 01, 2003 | C. L. Waller Daily Herald Staff Writer

[Kuksool]

Dist. 50, union carry on debate

By C. L. Waller Daily Herald Staff Writer

Talks were held behind closed doors for more than four hours Tuesday in Hinsdale as members of the Woodland Elementary District 50 school board and union members tried bringing a weeklong strike to an end.

The federal mediator asked negotiating teams for the union and board to hold the sixth session with her at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service office in Hinsdale to better focus on negotiations away from the Gurnee-area district.

Salary is the key issue dividing the two sides. The Woodland Council, with 858 members including teachers, bus drivers and custodians, last proposed an average salary increase of 29.5 percent over three years while the school was at 15.5 percent over three years.

As union and board members periodically emerged from behind closed doors to bring in food or use the washrooms, they were not willing to comment about how negotiations were progressing.

Before the session, however, both sides indicated they were willing to move off of the last percentages put forward for members of the council represented by the Lake County Federation of Teachers Local 504.

Starting salary in Woodland Elementary District 50 for a first-year teacher with bachelor's degree is $27,008, and the top salary for someone with 15 years of experience, a master's degree plus 30 additional hours of study is $64,341. The median salary is $38,298 at Woodland where 57 percent of teachers have less than four years experience. The hourly pay range for support staff is $8.05 to $12.65.

Earlier on Tuesday, union members gathered at the union offices in Gurnee for lunch and a rally.

"It is solidarity and unity that prevails," said Arnavez Mistry, field service representative for the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

Woodland Council Co-president Pat Termini said, "We are ready to do whatever it takes. We want to go back to the classroom, but we don't want to give everything away."

Woodland Elementary District 50 includes all or portions of western Gurnee, Gages Lake, Wildwood, Park City and eastern Grayslake.

Debate: Sides willing to negotiate

[pageonetoo]

my #2 son is a teacher... in VA, and he did it because "where else can I get a job with summers off?"
He makes enough to have a new car, a house, and his wife started a daycare to keep their kids home...
If these guys want a raise, they could get a job!
Oh yeah, UNION! You don't have to work, just show up for the protests/picket lines!