Hinsdale High School Teachers File Unfair Labor Complaint Against D86 Board

When high school teachers and school board members from Hinsdale Township High School Dist. 86 go back to the bargaining table for a new teachers’ contract on Monday, it will be with an unfair labor practice complaint hanging of their heads.

The Hinsdale High School Teachers Association announced that it has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board. Teachers said they were driven to filing the complaint “after enduring months of unnecessary delays and a series of public relations stunts by the school board.”

Hinsdale Central and South teachers, librarians, counselors and social workers returned to school on Aug. 22 without a contract. Teachers association members authorized a strike in May after contract negotiations had already resumed with a federal mediator.

The Dist. 86 board accused the teachers’ association of intentionally including a photo of an axe that inadvertently appeared in a link to a Patch story on the HHSTA Facebook page. It turned out not to be true but there was drama nonetheless.

The unfair labor complaint raises the odds of a possible teachers’ strike in Dist. 86.

HHSTA statement:

The complaint alleges a series of bad faith negotiation practices by the board’s representatives throughout the summer negotiating sessions, including unfair practices that range from intimidation and threats to delaying tactics and regressive bargaining. While some of the board’s actions happened early in the summer, many of the most serious actions occurred as recently as the Aug. 4 school board meeting. Specific allegations include that the school board:

• Used improper avenues for negotiation

• Refused to provide financial and other information

• Engaged in regressive bargaining

• Issued untrue and unfounded statements accusing teachers of criminal behavior

• Unfairly and unnecessarily delayed negotiations

“The conduct by the board majority represents a violation of good faith negotiations process and tarnishes the district’s tradition of excellence,” said Teachers’ Association President John Bowman. “The actions of this board show little or no respect for the process or our teachers, and do not do justice to the district’s reputation for educational excellence.”

According to the complaint, board negotiators have misled the public and issued overt threats to district teachers.

“The contentiousness of this bargaining is unprecedented in our history,” Bowman continued. “The board has refused to negotiate by even providing us with a complete offer. We’ve been asking for a comprehensive offer for more than 9 months and still haven’t gotten one from them.”

The teachers’ lead negotiator, Jeff Waterman, said teachers have been frustrated with the lack of tone of the talks.

“Whatever we propose does not seem to matter to the board,” Waterman said. “The board does not provide us information we ask for and constantly seeks to undermine our negotiating team. The totality of their conduct has demonstrated bad faith negotiations and an inability to make reasonable compromises.”

A decision from the IELRB is not expected for several months. The teachers have scheduled a mediation session with the board’s negotiation team on Sept. 8. No other negotiation dates have been set.