Evergreen Park Teachers, D124 Board Resume Contract Talks

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — The teachers union and Evergreen Park ESD 124 board members will resume contract negotiations on Wednesday. Teachers and paraprofessionals began the 2019-2020 school year without coming to a tentative agreement on a new 3-year contract. Both sides have been in contract negotiations since March.

The Evergreen Park Federation of Teachers 124 filed an intent-to-strike notice with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board last month. If an agreement cannot be reached, teachers and paraprofessionals could walk out of the district’s five elementary schools as early as Oct, 17.

>>> D124 Teacher Contract Talks End With No Tentative Agreement

The union's lead negotiator and D124 kindergarten teacher Linda Blaeser has stated that only issue left on the table is salary. Teachers and paraprofessionals plan to rally in front of the district administration building at 2929 W. 87th St. before contract talks resume at 4 p.m.

While both sides acknowledged that strides had been made during last week’s collective bargaining, the union appeared to have seized the opportunity to take their case to the community during heated public comments at the Sept. 25 board meeting. Parents also praised the district’s paraprofessionals for helping their special needs children.

According to the latest information available from the Illinois State Board of Education, the average annual teacher’s salary in Dist. 124 is $56,967, compared to the $65,721 statewide. Union members want to close the salary gap so that the school district can attract and retain quality teachers.

The union rejected the D124’s last publicly disclosed counter offer of an 11.5 percent salary increase for teachers and 15 percent for non-certified staff over the next three years. EPFT124 counts 200 members. A teacher's strike could affect 1,900 students in grades K-8. The district's teachers went on strike for ten days in 2012.