Dist. 211 union plans to picket meeting

Disgruntled teachers in Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 plan to picket before next week's school board meeting.

Union President John Braglia said Thursday he hopes a large turnout at 6 p.m. Oct. 25 will persuade the board of education to accept the teachers' salary request.

"I want every teacher out there that doesn't have a family obligation," he said.

The announcement is the latest escalation of tensions between the state's largest high school district and its teachers union, which voted Monday to draw up intent-to-strike papers.

Union officials are expected to file those papers today.

This school year is the last of a three-year contract agreed on in late 2005. It doesn't expire until July, but it gave teachers the ability to renegotiate salaries in the third year.

The union has rejected the district's offer of a 2.5 percent base-salary increase and instead wants a 3.8 percent raise, plus a lump-sum payment that would increase that to 4.1 percent.

Superintendent Roger Thornton said today he's aware of the union's plans to picket next Thursday at the McElroy Administration Center at 1750 S. Roselle Road in Palatine.

"I have been given that information. Certainly people have the right to express their views," he said.

Federal mediation failed to bring the sides closer together last week. Talks began in May and broke down in August.

A strike isn't a certainty. A 10-day period starts once the district receives the intent-to-strike papers. After those 10 business days, the union could set a strike date.

Before agreeing to a contract in 2005, the union also filed strike papers but a work stoppage never happened.

The final year of the existing contract does not include base-salary increases for teachers. But most teachers still received a so-called step increase of between 5 percent and 7 percent, depending on their experience and education level.

Braglia said teachers are entitled to a raise comparable to neighboring districts like Northwest Suburban High School District 214, whose teachers are receiving a 4.25 percent base increase this year.

Thornton pointed residents to the District 211 Web site for further information. Braglia said the district's Web site isn't a proper venue for bargaining info. He said the union's Web site will also be updated to express the teachers' viewpoint.

The district's Web site is d211.org; the union's is local1211.org.

Braglia said the district wants to force teachers into a multiyear deal without addressing concerns like classroom size and the cost of health insurance. Thornton said the district needs to stay close to the 2.5 percent consumer price index when offering raises to keep the district's budget in the black.