Bremen Teachers Rally Amid Tough Contract Negotiations

OAK FOREST, IL — Bremen District 228's teachers union stepped up pressure on officials over contract negotiations Tuesday night by planning to rally outside of the district's regularly scheduled school board meeting. The move comes two days before both sides were to continue discussions in a federal mediation session.

Members of the Joint Faculty Association, Bremen's teachers union, went back to classrooms this school year after their contract with the district expired during the summer. The two sides have been negotiating over salary, insurance, evaluations, pay scale and other issues, including ideas that union members said would create better educational conditions for students.

Tuesday marks the first time the union has held public demonstrations to support contract negotiations, said union president Gregory Fitch.

Fitch said about 150 of the district's roughly 350 teachers are expected to line up outside the school board meeting at Oak Forest High School Tuesday night. They also will attend the meeting, but will not address the board, he said. The contract issue is not on the board's agenda and no action will be taken regarding it.

Neither district nor union officials would offer specific details about the contract to maintain the integrity of negotiations, they said.

"We can tell you the process has been slow," Fitch said.

The union's focus, he explained, has been on ensuring retention of first-year teachers with competitive salary and fairly compensating teachers with more than 10 years of experience and advanced degrees. The expertise those teachers bring is valuable to districtwide discussions about improving learning conditions for students, he said.

"We want to be part of those discussions."

Information provided by the union shows that starting salaries for teachers in Bremen are among the lowest paid in 15 surrounding districts. For example, the base salary there is $47,630, more than $12,000 less than teachers at Argo, the highest ranked district, earn. The district is also among the lowest ranked for substitute teacher pay and supplemental pay for coaches or club sponsors.

According to the union's website, members also are looking for retirement incentives that encourage retention, to maintain health insurance benefits, and to develop a "fair and efficient" evaluation process.

Bremen is anticipating entering the 2020 school year with a $27.9 million fund balance,records show. It is the third year the district will operate with surplus funds.

"We’re very proud of our teachers and what they do, and we have to balance the finances of the district and be responsible to our community," said Superintendent Bill Kendall. "We’re trying to make all these things happen. It is a lot of work and a lot of stress for everyone, and we hope everyone stays focused on helping students."

Thursday's meeting is the second mediation session the two sides have attended. Hiring a federal mediator to facilitate contract negotiations is not unusual. However, it signals both sides are at an impasse.

Both Fitch and Kendall said they expect to release more details about the contract to the public Friday.