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Carbondale's elementary teachers threaten a strike
Carbondale elementary school teachers filed an intent-to-strike notice Thursday with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.
The 89-11 vote by the faculty came after trials to draft a contract the board and teachers could agree on. Two weeks prior, the board rejected a previous offer by the board in an 89-3 vote.
According to Don Prosser, legal counselor to the board, the board tabled an offer in the last negotiation session that would allow for a 3 percent on top-of-step increase with an additional 1 percent increase and a quarter-percent increase for the insurance of retired teachers.
While teachers are cluing in the board that they are not ruling out a strike, according to law, they cannot strike until 10 days have passed.
Monday would be the first day teachers could strike, if that is the chosen discourse.
But according to Prosser, the board is anxious to return to the bargaining table in an attempt to reach an agreement with the teachers.
"The intent to strike has not changed anything," Prosser said.
The board refused to go into binding arbitration Oct. 21, which would bring an outside expert in to establish what is fair on each side in terms of organizing a new contract.
Representatives of the faculty side could not be reached for comment.
Federal mediator Richard Tygett will be at the Nov. 12 bargaining session. Tygett will work to assist both sides in coming to a contract they can agree on.
The next public school board meeting will take place on Nov. 18.
