Streator teachers, support staff union agree to Thursday talks ahead of Friday strike date

The Streator Education Association and the Streator Elementary Board have agreed to meet at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 10, with the assistance of David Born.

The labor negotiations are scheduled a day before the Streator Education Association announced it would strike if no labor agreement was met.

Born was a regional director in the Chicago Office with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Since the discontinuation of the federal agency’s services to public unions by the Trump administration, Born has started a private practice.

The Streator Education Association said Born is familiar with Streator. He has mediated the last three contracts between the parties.

The federal mediator assigned to Streator Elementary’s negotiations prior to the agency’s discontinuation of services was placed on administrative leave. The board then offered the services of a state mediator but one was not used.

“Hopefully, an agreement will be reached,” the Streator Education Association leadership said in a news release. “If not, the SEA’s intent is to strike on Friday, April 11.”

The two main issues on the table are teachers salary and support staff benefits (bringing them to full-time with insurance), the union said Monday in a news release. The union consists of teachers and support staff.

The teachers and support staff union voted in January to start the 45-day clock on a potential strike. In February, the SEA initiated the public posting process, which is a prerequisite to a strike. As part of this process, the association and the board were required to submit their public posting documents to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.

“We will continue to split our efforts between engaging in good faith to reach resolution while also focusing on taking care of the children and this community during the strike,” the Streator Elementary Board said in a Tuesday news release.