River Forest Education Association staff are planning an “informational picketing” session from 3:30-4 p.m. on Sept. 30, a few hours before the final mediation session between River Forest School District 90, its teachers and a third party mediator regarding a new contract.
Picketing will be held near the district administration building at 7776 Lake St.
“Our goal is to raise awareness in the River Forest community that our contract has expired,” RFEA co-presidents Lauren Baiocchi and Cindy Crannell said in prepared statements to Wednesday Journal. “We have been working without one since Aug. 15, and we believe it’s important to make the community aware of this reality.
“Informational picketing is meant to reach the public as well as the district. We want our community and our administration to understand how important it is to us to reach a fair contract as soon as possible.”
Following a mediation session Sept. 8, RFEA reviewed the district’s supposal –
a non-binding conceptual offer – related to compensation. According to an email sent to RFEA members following that session, “the supposal did not represent the significant movement that we would have expected from the district at this stage in the bargaining process.”
Current and former district employees, students and community members spoke in the public comment portion of the Sept. 16 Board of Education meeting regarding the contract negotiations.
Baiocchi and Crannell said the main theme was concern about teachers leaving the district due to financial reasons.
“One moment that stood out was when a community member turned to us and offered a heartfelt apology,” they said. “She said she hadn’t realized our salaries weren’t keeping pace with neighboring districts and had assumed that, because River Forest has high taxes, our teachers are well compensated.”
The district has been mum about the negotiations, electing not to comment as a way to support productive negotiations. Baiocchi and Crannell have said a strike is the last possible resort, as teachers would rather be in classrooms with their students.
“Our hope is that (picketing) reinforces to the board that we are united and committed to reaching a fair agreement, while also raising awareness among community members about the urgency of resolving this contract,” they said.