Ryan Hosler photo
Workers from the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 150 return to work on the renovation of Naperville Central High School, part of District 203. The IUOE members returned to the construction site on July 8 after District 203 announced that it had reached an accord in principle with Local 150, as the school district wants the renovations completed before school resumes on Aug. 25.

By Jennifer Rice
Staff Writer

In the latest turn of events regarding the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 150, construction resumed last week at Naperville Central High School even though both sides of union negotiations cannot reach an agreement regarding health care and benefit funds.
After one week on strike, workers from IUOE Local 150 returned to work July 8 after District 203 announced it had reached an accord in principle with the union. The formal agreement is expected to be signed July 19 during a Board of Education Business Meeting, when details of the agreement will be made public.
In essence, the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) allows the picket signs to come down at the site, allowing workers to return to the job at the high school and provide for other trades, including the Laborers’ District Council of Chicago and Vicinity, to do the same. To meet the high school’s Aug. 25 opening date, crews at the high school are working seven days a week with two shifts. On Sundays, only one shift is working. The current double shifts are on a need-be basis. If work gets caught up, workers could resume a more normal schedule.
Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Superintendent Mark Mitrovich said nothing has been finalized in regards to the PLA.
“All we have is an agreement in principal. Attorneys for both sides are working on the final language. It will be brought before the board July 19 and if everything is fine, the board will approve it,” Mitrovich said.
He did say both sides are agreeing to use union labor on the project and that will happen for a fixed period of time. Many of the district’s projects are done with union labor.
On Tuesday, the district hosted a cookout for the union workers to show its appreciation for their commitment to getting the job done.
“These workers are really working hard,” Mitrovich said. “Some of these workers live in our school district and have kids who attend our school. We appreciate that they are working hard to get this school done on time,” he added.
The students of Naperville Central are the focus, Mitrovich said, and will continue to be the focus.
“There were some pretty thorough discussions that took place over the past couple of weeks and the goal is about the kids and not putting their education at risk. And both sides are acutely aware of that,” Mitrovich said.
On July 1, some 8,500 members of Local 150 joined members of the Labors’ District Council of Chicago and Vicinity on picket lines in nine Chicago-area counties, including Kane, Kendall, DuPage and Will counties. Both unions’ three-year contracts expired May 31.
Local 150 is asking for a 5 percent total compensation package increase each year for three years to cover increased costs for the union’s self-funded insurance pension programs. It has not asked for an increase in hourly wages, Local 150 spokesman Ed Maher said. The Mid-America Regional Bargaining Association (MARBA), which represents the employers, is offering a 1 percent compensation increase for each year of the first two years and a 1.25 percent increase for the third year.
Negotiations continued this week between both unions and MARBA. They met Monday to continue talks, but after six hours, both sides could not reach an agreement. Local 150 President-Business Manager James M. Sweeney said the union is tremendously disappointed at the employers’ lack of urgency. He stressed that at the heart of the negotiations is not wages, but the protection of the union’s health care and benefits.
“They are refusing to meet with us until July 19. Once again, we made ourselves available around the clock, and the employers are stalling. They do not seem to understand that there are workers and contractors whose survival hinges upon these negotiations,” Sweeney said.
The contractors Sweeney is referring to are smaller contractors, who have assigned their bargaining duties to MARBA.
Laborers’ District Council Business Manager James Connolly said employers are using the poor economy as leverage to attempt to cripple its benefits and wages. In a memo, MARBA chairman Tom Nordeen told members that the strike would be devastating to the economy.

Ryan Hosler photo
Construction workers operate a cherry picker on the campus of Naperville Central High School Monday, July 12 after IUOE Local 150 had reached a Project Labor Agreement with District 203 in order to complete renovations before school resumes on August 25.

He stressed that the 20 to 40 percent unemployment rate among the trades should, “bring a sense of reality and some shared sacrifice to the table.”
Connolly acknowledges the tough economic times workers are facing, saying, “The increases that we are asking for are merely to keep our pension and health care packages properly funded without having to slash our wages. We all know that these are unprecedented economic times, and because of this, we have stood united for all of our futures’ success.”
Sweeney also noted that Local 150 is providing boxes of food for 1,000 families a week and has subsidized COBRA payments for 1,200 families who have lost their health care coverage.
“Our [union] has pledged its financial backing to support striking members and their families. If the employers do not believe that we understand the current economy, we invite them to come hand out boxes of food to our members one night,” Sweeney said.
“Our members have been hit as hard as anyone by this recession, but we will not give away everything we have bargained for because the employers don’t want to negotiate with us,” he added.
IHC Construction Companies started additions and renovations to Naperville Central High School as part of Naperville Community Unit School District 203’s multi-facility construction program. It encompasses $87.7 million of the $114.9 million district-wide program.
It includes more than 170,000 square feet of new construction, including a three-story classroom addition, a three-story administration and entry addition, and a music addition.
Renovations include 370,000 square feet of gutting and remodeling throughout the interior, asbestos abatement, new security and communications systems, relocating the library, a new sprinkler system and mechanical, electrical and plumbing updates.
Exterior renovations include reconfiguring the bus turnaround and underground storage detention. Construction started in the summer of 2009. It is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2011 (See sidebar for complete renovations).
This strike has affected not only Naperville Central High School’s construction project, but also other school projects and various roadwork projects. (See sidebar for a list of stalled construction and road projects).
Work halted due to the strike at Batavia High School likely won’t affect the start of its school year, scheduled for Aug. 25, said Kris Monn, the district’s assistant superintendent for business. Work that needs to be finished is on the high school’s new physical education center and its auditorium. Monn said the work wasn’t scheduled to be finished until later this year.
Inside the high school, vocational and fitness classrooms are being renovated as well as an existing gymnasium. If need be, the school will set in place a contingency plan for some of its physical education classes. Construction on Batavia’s High School started in the summer of 2008. The project is expected to be finished this year.

Jennifer Rice’s e-mail address is Jen@foxvalleylabornews.com.