NUEA Rally Planned
The teachers union who represents 1,500 Naperville School District 203 educators plans to hold a rally on Monday, August 16, according to a press release.
The Naperville Unit Education Association (NUEA) and District 203 have been in negotiations since January. Last month, an independent federal mediator was brought in to help both sides reach an agreement. Their most recent meeting was earlier today.
Key Issues
The two main issues preventing an agreement between both sides is salary and the use of accumulated sick days during FMLA. According to the press release, “movement occurred with respect to parental and family leave,” but the NUEA and board “still remain distant on total compensation that addresses the additional increases in teachers’ responsibilities.”
“We felt we had a productive session today, discussing updated language with respect to parental and family leave. While some details need to be ironed out, we are encouraged by the healthy discussions with the district team,” said Dan Iverson who is president of NUEA in the press release. “We encourage the board to offer a proposal that honors the increase to our members’ professional responsibilities included in the district’s offer. We feel that our costing model employs the most current data with respect to staffing and salary numbers of the district and is easily affordable by the district within current revenue streams. We encourage the district to review their costing model data, so we can bargain for an affordable and appropriate compensation package. ”
“We are committed to working with the NUEA to reach a fair and fiscally responsible multi-year contract agreement that serves the best interests of all stakeholders–students, parents, educators and the taxpayer community,” said District 203 in a post on their website.
Rally Ahead of Board Meeting
NUEA members plan to rally on August 16 ahead of the district’s board of education meeting. The rally will start at 5:45 p.m. at Naperville North High School, then the group will march to Washington Junior High School where the meeting will be held.
This will be the union’s second rally. On August 2, over 500 students, parents, union members, and members from other teachers unions walked from Naperville North High School to Washington Junior High School in support of teachers.
The next mediation session between the union and district is scheduled for August 17.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.