By Fox Valley
Labor News staff
Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015
Kishwaukee College teachers used the recent winter break to distribute literature pertaining to the status of negotiations. Photo courtesy of Kishwaukee College Education Association
After months of the school’s bad faith bargaining, faculty takes an important step in the direction of a work stoppage
MALTA — The Kishwaukee College Education Association (KCEA) filed an intent to strike Jan. 5 with the Illinois Education Relations Board (IELRB), allowing the faculty to walk off the job as early as Jan. 16 if they do not reach an agreement with the School’s Board of Trustees. The filing does not guarantee the faculty will strike, but it gives the faculty that option if the college continues to bargain in bad faith.
Last week the faculty filed unfair labor practice complaints with the IELRB against the administration for violating the terms of bargaining and interfering with the faculty’s free speech rights. College representatives threatened to have faculty arrested for distributing literature pertaining to the status of negotiations.
Faculty members used the winter break to inform the public about the status of negotiations through public leafleting. The KCEA bargaining team also used winter break to work on its latest proposal, which it will present to administration. The two sides are set to meet with a third-party mediator Jan. 12.
“We hope it doesn’t come to this, but as the school administration continues to spread half-truths and misinformation about the negotiations process, we have little choice but to file an intent to strike,” said KCEA negotiator and history teacher Jennifer Jossendal.
“The administration keeps repeating to the public that they are offering us a proposal that includes raises. We crunched the numbers over and over again and we found that the current proposal does not include a raise for most of our educators and many of them will see a decrease in pay in addition to dramatic decreases in benefits. Kishwaukee College has nearly a million dollar surplus that increases by almost half a million dollars each year. We aren’t asking for the world, just a contract that reflects the work we put in every day to give our students the education they deserve,” Jossendal explained.
“I am a graduate of the College and I became an educator here because of the world-class education I received from Kishwaukee faculty. I fear that the cut backs the administration is trying to push on the faculty will prevent people like me from returning here to teach when other comparable schools offer salaries that are far more competitive,” said KCEA President and math teacher Matt Read.
“Kishwaukee College faculty includes a Jeopardy champion, a published award-winning author, and scores of educators who go above and beyond every day for the students they serve. The administration risks pushing out these outstanding educators through the games it plays at the negotiating table,” Read added.
—Kishwaukee College Education Association