PINCKNEYVILLE – The Pinckneyville Elementary Education Association (PEEA) is giving the Pinckneyville School District 50 Board of Education (BOE) until 9 p.m. tonight to agree to its most recent contract proposal or set more bargaining dates. Otherwise, the Pinckneyville Elementary and Middle School teachers will go on strike tomorrow.
“I can tell you the absolute last thing we want to do is go on strike,” PEEA President Jacky Blum said. “It’s unbelievable we’re at this point. We have given the board every opportunity to meet us in the middle. In fact, we’ve made much more movement than the board has at the table. We’re giving them one more shot tonight, but if they don’t do the right thing for our students, our schools and our community, we will have no choice but to go on strike tomorrow.”
This afternoon, the PEEA membership overwhelmingly voted against the board’s most recent offer. PEEA and the District 50 BOE have been bargaining since April.
“We’ve been working without a contract, showing up in good faith for our students since the beginning of the school year. We continue to show up to the bargaining table ready and willing to find common ground with the board, but we continue to be met with a board that seems nearly unwilling to negotiate,” Blum said.
The main issues at the bargaining table are:
- Health insurance: The PEEA’s healthcare costs are increasing so much, under the district’s proposal, Pinckneyville teachers will actually be taking home less money than they are right now.
- Wages: The BOE’s offers don’t begin to address the rising costs for families, due to high gas prices and increasing inflation.
“We’re teachers. We’ve done the math. We know our district has the money to meet our requests without raising taxes. It’s clear this isn’t about money. It’s about respect for us and the good work we do every day,” Blum said.
If the District 50 BOE fails to act by 9 p.m., the PEEA will go on strike tomorrow.
“This isn’t a done deal. There’s still time for the district to make things right,” Blum said. “We love our community. We love working in Pinckneyville, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the community support we’ve been receiving. It’s wonderful to know we have so many parents and families supporting us.”
PEEA represents about 36 teachers and licensed educators who support nearly 500 students who attend school in District 50. There are currently no bargaining dates scheduled, although the PEEA remains willing to bargain whenever possible.
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The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state’s largest union. IEA represents PreK-12 teachers outside the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.
