Teachers' Strike Averted? Plainfield Schools Reach Tentative Agreement With Union

PLAINFIELD, IL — After nearly a year of negotiations — and more than a week after the Association of Plainfield Teachers declared an "impasse" — the Plainfield School District said it has reached a tentative agreement with the teachers union, according to district officials. The three-year deal would give District 202 teachers a raise of almost 4 percent, on average, along with restoring a one-year, 6 percent retirement incentive for eligible faculty and no increase in insurance contributions "despite rising health care costs across the country," board president Greg Nichols said in a statement Monday morning.

Nichols said APT is slated to vote on the tentative agreement on Tuesday night, although APT President Dawn Bullock said the vote is actually slated to take place Wednesday. In a statement emailed to Patch, Bullock said the tentative agreement was presented to APT members on Sept. 20.

The votes will be tallied on Wednesday night, Bullock said, adding only, "The Association of Plainfield Teachers will reserve comment until after the membership has voted."

The proposed contract does not spell out what increases — if any — local teachers will see after the first year of the three-year pact.

"Due to the uncertainty of the impact of the new Illinois school funding formula on District 202, the parties tentatively agreed to begin salary and retirement discussions on the remaining two school years in January 2018," Nichols said in a statement. "The board appreciates the APT team’s willingness to move forward with a one-year economic commitment to allow the parties to assess the District’s financial condition after the dust settles a bit on the State’s evidence-based funding formula."

Nichols said 80 percent of District 202 teachers are at or above the 4 percent salary increase in the first year of the contract. There are 1,891 members of APT, according to Bullock.

Bullock previously said teachers had been in negotiations with the district since Nov. 30, 2016. Earlier this month, the union said it had reached an impasse — an announcement that paved the way for a potential teachers' strike. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

“From the very beginning of these negotiations our association has maintained a commitment to reach an agreement that is fair for the community, the teachers and the school board, an agreement that promotes quality education and is fiscally responsible," Bullock said in a Sept. 13 statement. “We have offered significant concessions and compromises throughout the negotiation process ... Our goal remains to reach a fair agreement that will serve the school district and the community well. We believe we’re doing our part to do so. It’s time for the school board to come to the table with the same type of commitment to fairness and compromise.”

Bullock also said the district lags behind other nearby districts when it comes to teacher compensation, leading to turnover.

"Teacher turnover has been a significant concern in the district, which has recently hired 100-150 new teachers each year to replace those who leave," she said. "Salaries in nearby unit school districts such as- Oswego #308, Yorkville #115, Kaneland #302, Indian Prairie #204, and Naperville #203 have consistently outpaced District #202’s compensation."

The threat of a teachers' strike last loomed in District 202 in 2014, when teachers voiced concerns about an increasing workload, uneven student distribution among classes and sub-par compensation. APT and the district came to an agreement, averting a strike, in January 2015 after more than a year of negotiations.

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