ADDISON 鈥撎�The Addison Teachers鈥� Association (ATA) will be rallying with community members for a fair contract this evening. The rally comes two days before a possible strike. ATA filed its intent to strike notice with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) and could legally go on strike as early as Thurs., Oct. 24. There are currently no negotiations sessions set between ATA and the Addison School District 4 Board of Education (BOE).
鈥淲e want to send a very clear message to the board: We are ready, willing and able to negotiate. Come back to the table. Do what you were elected to do and put our students first,鈥� ATA co-President Allison Andrikokus said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to go on strike. But it is impossible to reach a new contract if the board is unwilling to even meet with us. We are just asking for average for ourselves and for our students. We know the district can afford to make us equal.鈥�
ATA鈥檚 members are currently working without a contract. The ATA has been negotiating with the BOE since February. The BOE has refused to bargain with ATA since Oct. 7.
鈥淲e鈥檙e losing good, quality teachers that our students deserve. For the last five years, we鈥檝e lost nearly two dozen teachers a year. Those teachers are being forced to look for work outside of District 4 because they need a wage that will allow them to provide for their families,鈥� Andrikokus said. 鈥淥ur students deserve consistency. We need to be able to attract and also retain high-quality educators. We are in the middle of a teacher shortage, if Addison doesn鈥檛 step up and become competitive, we鈥檒l only fall further behind.鈥�
District 4 serves 4,059 students, 66 percent of which are Hispanic. ATA has 327 members who are teachers, speech pathologists, media specialists, social workers and psychologists.
鈥淥ur students deserve better. We鈥檙e below average, behind most districts in the county, when it comes to per student spending. Our students have a right to an equitable education. The district has a $47 million surplus. What are they waiting for?鈥� Andrikokus said.
The rally is set for Tues., Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. in the parking lot of Venutis Italian Restaurant and Banquet Hall (2251 W. Lake St., Addison).
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The 135,000 member 黑料吃瓜网 (IEA-NEA) is the state鈥檚 largest education employee鈥檚 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.
