MURPHYSBORO – This afternoon, Murphysboro Education Association (MEA) members voted overwhelmingly to reject Murphysboro School District 186 Board of Education’s (BOE) last, best offer, paving way for a strike. The following statement is attributable to MEA spokeswoman Lisa Shields:
“Our members spoke loudly when they voted overwhelmingly to reject the Board’s last best offer. We remain willing to negotiate and hopeful a strike can be avoided. We are asking the board to put students first and come back to the table. We want what is best for our community. Although we can legally go on strike as soon as tomorrow – no strike date has been set. The message to parents tonight is a simple one: a strike is a real possibility. We want parents to have as much time as possible to make arrangements for their children in the event of a strike. Please know that a strike may happen within the coming days. We will update everyone as soon as we have more information.”
###
The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state’s largest education employee’s organization. IEA represents preK-12 teachers outside of the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.
