Meridian teachers union puts potential strike on hold, for now

Contract talks for better pay and more support for career teachers with the board of education in one Illinois town are receiving criticism. The teachers’ union feels board members are dragging their feet toward reaching solutions, and a strike could be imminent. Comments from Brian Pekovitch (pah-KOH-vitch), teacher and union president, Meridian Federation of Teachers, ITF Local 4487.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A meeting last week between the Board of Education and
its teachers union in one Illinois town has left one
group unhappy. Members have voiced their displeasure with what it
views as a lack of urgency and negotiations for better
pay and more support. Contracts for the Meridian Federation of
Teachers if Local forty four, eighty seven and Macon expired

(00:21):
in August. Seventy Teachers who are part of the bargaining
unit have met with the board only six times since June.
Union president and teacher Brian Pikovich says they are seeking
a resolution.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
We have another session plan with the mediator on Wednesday.
We're very hopeful that we will be able to resolve
these differences and come to an agreement to avoid a strike.
That's absolute last resort that we want to have happened.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Ninety two percent of voting members of the Union of
greet last week to authorize a strike if more substantial
progress is not made. The district has difficulties even attracting
substitute teachers for the school year. According to the education
site niche dot com, Macon Counties teacher to student ratio
is fourteen to one. Pakovich praises the support of parents,

(01:10):
and says teachers are shouldering more than what their job
description requires and it is taking its toll. He acknowledges
teaching has changed from pre pandemic days, causing classrooms to
struggle to meet students' needs. The union wants teachers to
stay in the district and not seek higher salaries elsewhere.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Our biggest thing has been just teacher retention. There's problem
with star pay when you gee a teachers that have
longevity in the district. Once you've been here longer, if
you have higher education, there's just some gaps in there
that we're trained to close to keep our more experienced
teachers here.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Niche dot com indicates the average teacher salaries around fifty
six thousand dollars. Pakovich adds the mindset that nice schools
and newer technology alone would attract people to want to
be in Macon quote is just not the case anymore.
The Meridian community. The unit school district serves a little
more than nine hundred students in grades pre K through twelve.

(02:05):
This is Terry d for Illinois News Connection. Find our
trust indicators at Publicnewservice dot org.