Holding up signs emblazoned with the words “We’d rather be teaching” and “Quality teachers deserve quality pay,” teachers at Proviso Township High School District 209 picketed outside school campuses today after rejecting the latest contract offer from district officials.
The strike, which involves 317 teachers from Proviso East High School in Maywood and Proviso West High School in Hillside, kept 4,500 students out of class today. It also led to the cancellation of extra-curricular activities, including sports events.
Meanwhile, teachers in Hazel Crest District 152 1/2 picketed for the fourth straight school day after the latest contract talks between their union and the district broke off Monday night. The strike in Hazel Crest affects about 1,100 students.
In District 209, negotiations broke off Monday after 11th-hour discussions failed to produce an agreement. Union officials and administrators say no new talks are scheduled.
At Proviso East, about 50 teachers were walking up and down the 800 block of South First Street picketing. Another group of teachers was picketing at Proviso West.
“I’ve been here since I was a kid out of college and it always seems like they beat us down with these contracts,” said Debra Martz, 50, an English teacher at Proviso East High School.
Teachers, who have been working without a contract since June 30, rejected a proposed four-year deal that would have offered them a 7 percent raise the first year. A minimum raise of 4 percent would follow in the next three years of the contract, according to district officials.
The teachers union is seeking a three-year pact that would consist of a 9 percent pay hike the first year and a 4 percent increase in each of the remaining years.
Teachers rejected the latest offer partly because they believe it does not address the issue or retention, said Gail Purkey, spokeswoman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers in Oak Brook.
District 209 ranks near the bottom of the pay scale for teachers in Cook County, Purkey said. She contends this has contributed to a high turnover rate in the district.
“People get a job there for a few years and then move into a higher salary district,” she said.