U-46 teachers could vote next week on contract

After months of going back and forth on contract negotiations with Elgin Area School District U-46, the Elgin Teachers Association has scheduled meetings to discuss a temporary contract with its membership.

Union representatives from the different schools met Wednesday and there are also meetings scheduled for Thursday and Monday that involve the other teachers.

The 2,200-member union is due to vote on the contract next Thursday.

If the union accepts the contract, it would go to the school board for final ratification at a special meeting tentatively scheduled for April 16.

“I wouldn't attempt to guess what any outcome was until after the membership has their chance to vote,” said Kathy Heikkinen, the union's second vice president.

The teachers' previous contract ended last August and it was a one-year extension of the last deal.

The extension included pay freezes, which meant nobody received a step increase or a base salary increase, U-46 spokesman Tony Sanders said. Only those who received advanced degrees or training made more money, he said.

If the union rejects the agreement, a strike wouldn't come right away.

There would need to be a call for mediation and after 15 days of that, either party or the mediator could declare an impasse. Several steps follow if mediation fails.

“It's a much longer process because of a change in state law,” Sanders said. “If the contract does not pass, it does not mean the teachers would be on strike. We would have to return to the table.”

Both Heikkinen and Sanders declined to release any details from the tentative contract. Sanders said the district can release them after the teachers vote.