Unit 4 Teacher's Strike

It's been a busy week for contract negotiations between Unit 4 and the Champaign Federation of Teachers union. On Monday there was news that there would be a federal mediator involved in getting the parties to work through the impasse:

Before negotiations resume today — this time with a federal mediator on hand — members of the Champaign Federation of Teachers plan rallied at Unit 4's Mellon Administrative Center. Today's session marks the eighth time the two sides have sat down to negotiate a contract that ended on June 30. The district says the teachers union has rejected two proposals; CFT President JEN WHITE says they didn't resolve several "sticking points," which are sure to come up at today's rally.

A few of those sticking points are laid out in the preliminary article (after the update) here. The update and another article later that night on the web explained how negotiations broke down and the union was heading towards a vote to strike on Thursday:

"We overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike," said Anderson, who was unable to give an exact tally. "We will continue to negotiate, and our next scheduled negotiating session is set for Oct. 23."

She said the earliest teachers could go on strike would be the first week of December.

The union represents more than 850 certified teachers in the Unit 4 district. Their last contract expired June 30; negotiations on a new agreement began May 16.

Full blurb here. WCIA had an article (and video segment) with some community response and parents concerned about what a strike may mean for their kids and schedules here.