Streator Elementary teachers vote to begin 45-day clock on possible strike

The Streator Education Association voted Monday in favor of taking another step closer to a strike.

The strike vote, once the paperwork is turned in, will start a 45-day clock and after that time, the union can opt to strike. The union took its vote Monday during a meeting at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Streator, open only to its membership.

Stacy Walton, Uniserv director, said there was no tally to share of the vote Monday, but called it an overwhelming margin. She said the mediator has not given the union any future dates to meet with the board as of yet.

“We are saddened it has come to this,” Walton said. “We do not take this vote lightly, and understand the impact on the community, but there is a lack of good faith bargaining that has brought us here.”

In a prior letter to its membership, the union leadership team for Streator Elementary School District 44 teachers said it showed up to meet in person Dec. 16 for a mediation session, but the school board’s team and a mediator did not show up. The union said all mediation sessions were agreed to be in person at the district office.

District 44 Superintendent Kelli Virgil has said the mediator pivoted to a virtual session Dec. 16 because of inclement weather. The board said it plans to continue to meet and negotiate.

The board and the union have been negotiating since May 16 in the hopes of finalizing a new contract. The parties met six times before requesting the assistance of a federal mediator, Virgil said. The parties continued the process with the mediator on four occasions.

The union is pushing for a total compensation package representing an estimated 34% increase in salary over three years, while seeking to change the eligibility criteria for part-time staff members to receive single coverage under the district’s group health plan, Virgil said. The district currently pays 100% of the employee’s premiums for employee-only coverage, with no out-of-pocket cost to the employee, the superintendent said.

Walton said it was hypocritical of the administration to be critical of raises, when they have received them themselves.