Teachers creating ill will with demands

The Dec. 8 headline read "U-46 teachers won't strike this weekend." Paragraph 12 states: "The deal that members opposed, by a vote of 1,183 to 1,125, called for average raises of 6.1 percent in the first year of the contract and between 4.4 percent and 5.7 percent, determined by the rate of inflation, in the second and third years of the contract."

Since the union leaders filed an intent to strike notice, I must ask if union leaders and teachers read the Daily Herald? Have they noted the letters to the editor which raise questions about the amount of salary increases teachers are asking for and are receiving? Raises that far exceed that paid in the general work force?

Have they ignored the admonishing comments made by the public saying that they are not going to continue to fund the higher and higher cost of education through their tax bills?

Have they ignored the suggestions that the rate of increase is not sustainable over a longer period of time? I guess not. Teachers and their unions are creating deepening ill will and polarizing their constituents against what most people feel is reasonable.

Most people want good schools and to pay their teachers fairly. Few are willing to accept the increasing separation between what teachers are paid and what those who pay their salaries are receiving in their jobs.

David W. Koester

Barrington