Waukegan teachers strike over pay, other issues, idling 17,000 students
A teachers strike that began Thursday in Waukegan is expected to continue into next week, a union representative said.
Teachers picketed outside the Waukegan Unit District 60 schools on the first day of the walkout. They chanted and waved signs at passers-by and motorists.
"They are determined," union President Kathy Schwarz said. "They know how important this is."
The strike leaves an estimated 17,000 students locked out of school. The district operates 23 school buildings, with students ranging from kindergartners to high schoolers.
Administrators and the teachers union, which represents some 1,200 employees, are at a standstill on issues including salaries.
Average teacher pay in the district is $55,642, officials said. Salaries range from $36,853 to $100,522.
Teachers asked for a 3-year contract with 9-pecent raises the first year and 7-percent increases in each of the next two years, said Anthony Ficarelli, the district's lawyer and negotiator. The district offered a 2-year deal with 1.63-percent and 1.5-percent raises.
Health insurance, the number of work days and employee rights also were among the issues, representatives said.
Schwarz said she had hoped talks would resume Thursday, but they didn't. She blamed the district's team for not agreeing to meet.
Ficarelli had a different take, saying he's waiting to receive "more realistic" counterproposals from the union before having another sit-down.
No negotiations are scheduled for Friday.
Schwarz said the teachers want to get back into the classroom. Ficarelli said the teachers should have continued negotiating without striking, which would have kept the schools open.
Because of the strike, athletic competitions and practices scheduled for Thursday were canceled. They included Waukegan High football games at Niles West High, girls volleyball at Maine South and boys soccer at Niles West.
If the strike continues this weekend, tennis, soccer and volleyball contests set for Saturday would be among those canceled.
Any games that aren't rescheduled will be forfeited by Waukegan High, according to an online statement from Waukegan High Athletic Director Sam Taylor.
As the strike continues, parents needing child care should contact the Waukegan Park District and the Boys and Girls Club, Superintendent Donaldo Batiste said in a message on the district website, wps60.org.
The strike comes just six months after teachers and administrators settled a different fight over salary increases and health coverage and avoided a threatened walkout.
Daily Herald Staff Writer Steve Lundy contributed to this report.