Union rally set for DuPage County employees

DuPage County probation and juvenile detention officers will stage a rally at noon today to bring attention to the fact they have been working without a contract since November.

They are seeking a three-year contract with 5 percent raises each year. They also want to keep their "flexible scheduling" abilities, said Dana Andrewson, president of Local 3328 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

"Currently, the officers are allowed to schedule their week depending on the needs of the courts and needs of defendants," Andrewson said.

The rally will be held in the courtyard of the county complex in Wheaton, between the jail and courthouse. Andrewson said he expects 30 to 40 of the 153 represented workers to participate.

Court Administrator Chuck Hoffman said officials have called in a federal mediator recently to help sort through the negotiation's stumbling blocks. The two sides are slated to meet with the mediator June 17.

Hoffman wouldn't elaborate on the portion of the negotiations his side is having problems with.

"We have made significant progress on many of the components of this contract and we have called in the mediator to try and reach a quicker agreement," he said.

The probation and detention officers have been unionized for 10 years in the county. This would be their third contract.

Andrewson said with the recent sales tax increase, the county has the ability to pay the union employees a more competitive wage.

Also, a recent jailhouse population study indicated more probation officers and probation programs would lower the county's incarceration figures.