Tinley Park Elementary District 146 teachers’ union says it is on track to approve a contract agreement with the district, avoiding a strike.
A spokesperson for the District 146 Educators Council declined to provide information on the agreement ahead of a vote by union members Wednesday and Thursday. The union earlier this month voted to strike as early as Sept. 22 if an agreement could not be reached, with 230 of 232 members voting in favor of the authorization.
“We are so glad that we can now put this process behind us,” District 146 Educators Council President Eileen Von Borstel said in a statement through the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “It took longer than expected” to reach a fair contract.
“But we know that investing in teacher recruitment and ensuring teachers want to stay in our district their whole career, without restrictions, is how to boost retention and long-term district stability,” Von Borstel said.
Superintendent Jeff Stawick provided a short statement announcing a deal was reached and there would be no strike.
While most contract terms were settled ahead of the strike authorization vote, the teachers union said it was fighting for higher wage increases and more retirement benefits than the district offered. Negotiations began in February, with the union declaring an impasse once the board “started bargaining regressively and stalling over the summer.”
The most recent contract expired July 31. Details of the agreement are not available, but both sides had publicized their latest offers.
The district said it adjusted its offers after hearing from teachers during a school board meeting, while the union did not make any concessions.
The district moved wage increases up to 6% for each of the next three school years, while their previous offer included wage increases of 6% for each of the next two school years and 5% for the 2027-2028 school year. The district also made the current retirement incentive a benefit with a 10-year eligibility window, it said.
The teachers union said it would remain firm in advocating for wage increases of 7% each year for the next three school years, which they say is important to counter inflation and struggles teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to attract good teachers amid a nationwide shortage.
The district said it was unwilling to match the union’s 7% proposal because wage increases beyond 6% expose the district to financial penalties through the Illinois Teachers Retirement System.
Under the district’s proposed salary increase, teachers starting salaries would have been $52,570. Teachers with master’s degrees would have started at $56,300. The contract for the 2024-2025 school year had teachers with bachelor’s degrees starting at $50,586 and teachers with master’s degrees starting at $54,175.
The union said it allowed the district to choose between two financial proposals in April, one that the district pay teachers’ TRS contribution, which is 9% of every teacher’s salary, while providing lower raises, or that they provide higher raises. The district chose the higher salary increase, the union said.
“Teaching should be a full-time job that earns full-time pay, but more than half of us have to work second and third jobs,” Von Borstel said.
After the union voted to authorize a strike, Stawick said in a district news release he was “surprised and disappointed to be at this point,” given the district’s offer being “the highest we’ve seen.”
“However, we remain committed to finding a solution that benefits both the teachers and the taxpayers and minimizes the educational disruption for our students,” Stawick said.
District 146 has about 2,400 students who attend Fierke Education Center, Kruse Education Center, Fulton School, Memorial School and Central Middle School.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com