Mount Olive teachers call for weekend bargaining session

Source: The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.文件倉Dec. 14--Teachers in the Mount Olive School District were seeking a weekend bargaining session to get students back in the classroom Monday.Negotiation teams for the School Board and teachers' union met Thursday night with a federal mediator for a six-hour bargaining session. No progress was made, Mount Olive Education Association co-president Marcia Schulte said."We'll be out on Monday unless we meet sometime during the weekend," Schulte said.Another mediation session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday.Mount Olive Superintendent Patrick Murphy said no weekend meeting was scheduled. He said teachers could get students back in the classroom by suspending the strike and continuing talks.According to a press release on the district's website, the board made a new offer Thursday to end the strike. The proposals include:--A new four-year collective bargaining framework to cover the current 2013-14 school year through the 2016-17 school year.--Withdrawal of the board's previous proposal for a "two-tier" salary schedule applicable for new hires--A "6 percent retirement incentive" for up to four years, applicable to four pe存倉ple the union said were unfairly affected by the board's prior move to reduce or eliminate that benefit.--A board-paid health insurance benefit of up to $475 per month (above the current actual cost for individual health insurance) for all four years of the contract.--Salary increases for 4 years of the board's proposed four-year framework, ensuring teachers would receive an increase in salary each year; 2013-2014 step and lane increases averaging 2.24 percent plus an additional "across the board" increase of 2 percent on the schedule; 2014-2015 step and lane increases averaging 2.38 percent plus an additional "across the board" increase of 1 percent on the schedule; 2015-2016 step and lane increases averaging 2 percent plus an additional increase of $300 to teachers on the maximum step; and 2016-2017 step and lane increases averaging 2 percent plus an additional increase of $300 to teachers on the maximum step.Steps are years of experience, and lanes are levels of education, both affecting pay.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.) Visit The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.) at .thetelegraph.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存