Articles filed under West Chicago District 33

• West Chicago teacher contract talks heading for weekend showdown Feb 1, 2013 12:00 AM
  Students and parents in West Chicago Elementary District 33 probably will have to wait until late Sunday to learn if their teachers will be in class Monday or walking a picket line. The teachers union and school board exchanged contract proposals Thursday night and Friday afternoon in an effort to avert a strike that threatens to cancel classes for nearly 4,000 students, but it’s unlikely a settlement is near.
  

   

• West Chicago teachers: Little choice but to strike Monday Jan 30, 2013 12:00 AM
  Teachers in West Chicago Elementary District 33 say they will go on strike Monday, Feb. 4, if they are unable to come to a contract agreement with the school board. "We are disappointed and disheartened that our professional negotiations have come down to this," the union's chief negotiator, Mary Catherine Kosmach, said in a written statement. "But for months we have had to deal with a school board that is intractable — one that refuses to compromise fairly and then threatens to impose its final offer on us. We are left with little choice."
  

   

• Strike threat growing in West Chicago District 33 Jan 17, 2013 12:00 AM
  Pressure is mounting in West Chicago Elementary District 33 as both sides in tumultuous contract talks between the school board and teachers union are setting deadlines aimed at forcing a settlement.The school board last week announced it will impose its final contract offer on the district's 284 teachers if an agreement isn't reached by Feb. 21. The teachers responded Wednesday by voting overwhelmingly to authorize their negotiating team to call a strike, although no date has been set.
  

   

• Dist. 33 teacher's union approves setting date for strikeJan 16, 2013 12:00 AM
  The teachers union for West Chicago Elementary District 33 authorized their negotiators Wednesday to set a strike date. The measure passed by 96 percent during a vote at a membership meeting for the Elementary Teachers' Association of West Chicago. “The teachers are frustrated,” said union spokeswoman Mary Catherine Kosmach. “They want the board to meet us instead of threatening us.”
  

   

• Dist. 33 teachers ‘angry, frustrated’ as contract showdown looms Jan 14, 2013 12:00 AM
  A showdown is looming in the increasingly bitter contract talks between the West Chicago Elementary District 33 school board and its teachers union. Union members will meet after class Wednesday to consider their options — including a possible strike — in the wake of the school board's announcement last week that it intends to implement its last contract offer if an agreement isn't reached by Feb. 21.
  

   
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  West Chicago school board sets deadline in teacher contract talks Jan 10, 2013 12:00 AM
  The West Chicago District 33 school board announced Thursday night it intends to implement its last contract offer to the teachers union if the two sides cannot come to agreement before the board's meeting Feb. 21. Board President Chris Scheck said the board will provide official notice to the teachers union of the board's intent to implement its offer unless resolution is reached within six weeks. “We are more than willing to continue to meet” before then, Scheck said.
  

   

• No deal, but no strike date in West Chicago District 33Jan 9, 2013 12:00 AM
  No strike date has been set by teachers in West Chicago District 33 after more than four hours of negotiations between the teachers union and the school board broke off without an agreement Wednesday night. Both the union and the board said they made new offers in an attempt to compromise on health insurance, which both sides have identified as a major sticking point.
  

   
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  District 33 board, teachers hope to avoid strike Jan 5, 2013 12:00 AM
  Both sides in a contract dispute between West Chicago Elementary District 33 and its teachers union say they hope to reach an agreement to avoid a strike, despite two days of negotiations without progress on the issue of health care. School will resume Monday as scheduled after winter break. Representatives of the school board and the teachers union said Saturday they would like to see 16 months of bitter contract talks resolved during a bargaining session scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday.
  

   
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  West Chicago Dist. 33 board: Little progress in talks Jan 4, 2013 12:00 AM
  Hours of negotiations Thursday and Friday failed to end a bitter contract dispute in West Chicago Elementary District 33. Though teachers legally could strike as early as Monday, students' schedules are expected to be normal at least through Thursday, officials said. In a statement released late Friday, school board President Chris Scheck said, "From the board's perspective, little or no progress was made."
  

   

• District 33 resuming contract talks Jan 2, 2013 12:00 AM
  The West Chicago Elementary District 33 school board and its teachers union are set to resume negotiations Thursday and Friday in hopes of reaching an agreement and heading off a possible strike after roughly 16 months at the bargaining table. The two sides will meet with a federal mediator for the first time since talks broke down on Dec. 3.
  

   

• Candidates line up for DuPage school boards facing contentious issuesDec 28, 2012 12:00 AM
  Candidates seeking school board seats in the April 9 DuPage County election will face issues ranging from budget deficits to overcrowded buildings to teacher contracts to curriculum questions. As daunting as it seems, relatively large numbers of candidates have filed to pursue seats on several area school boards.
  

   

• Dist. 33 teachers, board heading back to bargaining table Dec 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Negotiating teams in West Chicago Elementary District 33 are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Jan. 3 and 4 — just days before teachers legally will be allowed to strike. The school board and teachers union both have agreed to resume talks with a federal mediator as the threat of a job action looms. The two sides last met Dec. 3.
  

   

• District 33 teachers could strike as early as Jan. 7 Dec 21, 2012 12:00 AM
  Teachers in West Chicago Elementary District 33 delivered an intent to strike notice to school district offices Friday — a procedure that allows them to legally strike as early as Jan. 7. That would be the first scheduled day back from winter break, which started Friday afternoon after classes were dismissed. "We want to compromise and the board has pushed us into this corner because they will not meet us halfway," said Mary Catherine Kosmach, the union's chief negotiator. "We're asking for compromise on both sides."
  

   
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  District 33 residents divided on teacher contract dispute Dec 20, 2012 12:00 AM
  The bitter contract dispute between the West Chicago Elementary District 33 school board and its teachers union is beginning to cause divisions in the community, too, as parents and others begin choosing sides. With the threat of a strike looming as soon as Jan. 7 when classes are scheduled to resume after winter break, more than 100 residents and teachers attended a town-hall meeting Wednesday to hear officials outline the district’s final contract offer.
  

   

• Dist. 33 board, teachers make final offers before possible strike Dec 17, 2012 12:00 AM
  It's no secret teachers and school board members in West Chicago Elementary District 33 remain far apart in contract talks that have ground to a halt after roughly 15 months at the bargaining table. But on Monday the size of the chasm, particularly over issues involving salary and benefits, became public for the first time when the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board published the details of each side's best and final offer on its website.
  

   

• District 33 school board to address contract stalemate Dec 14, 2012 12:00 AM
  With teacher contract talks at a standstill in West Chicago Elementary District 33 and teachers threatening to strike as early as Jan. 7, the school board will hold a town-hall meeting Dec. 19 to discuss its offer with residents and answer questions. The session is scheduled for 7 p.m. at West Chicago Middle School, 238 E. Hazel St.
  

   

• West Chicago teachers threatening to strikeDec 13, 2012 12:00 AM
  Teachers in West Chicago Elementary District 33 filed an intent to strike notice Thursday that could have faculty members walking picket lines as early as Jan. 7. Union leaders said the district's 284 teachers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to authorize the possible job action.
  

   

• Labor board reviewing contract offers in District 33 dispute Dec 12, 2012 12:00 AM
  Both sides in the West Chicago Elementary District 33 labor impasse have submitted their final contract offers. The clock is now ticking on the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to review the offers and make them public. Earlier this month, school board officials declared teachers and administrators were at an impasse after 14 months of contract negotiations.
  

   

• West Chicago schools among many dealing with labor discord Dec 4, 2012 12:00 AM
  Angry teachers in West Chicago Elementary District 33 will huddle following classes Wednesday to discuss their options after the school board declared an impasse in its long-running contract talks with the union. The board's declaration effectively sets a one-week deadline for each side to submit their final offers to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, which would then wait another seven days before making the proposals public on its website at www2.illinois.gov/elrb.
  

   

• District 33 declares impasse with teachers Dec 3, 2012 12:00 AM
  West Chicago Elementary School District 33 teachers and the board of education declared an impasse Monday night after failing to reach an agreement. The declaration comes after 14 months of negotiations and two months spent with a federal mediator. Once an impasse has been declared, both sides have a two-week deadline to make their final offers public. Talks may continue until then.