After seven months of work to for a union and negotiate a new contract, New Lenox District 122 support staff signed an agreement Tuesday that some believe will help workers such as custodians and school nurses feel more valued.
Rachel Tuley, a paraprofessional at Arnold J. Tyler Elementary School, said after years of feeling underappreciated and underpaid, an untenable insurance change approved as part of the most recent teacher contract drove support staff to unionize.
“People were going to be underwater,” said Tuley, president of the New Lenox Professional Support Staff Council of the Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 604. “People are so desperate at this point that they would even say yes to (a union), something they said no to for literally decades.”
Tuley said she’s grateful they did, as the contract approved by the school board Tuesday provides raises that make up for their 4.3% increase in insurance premiums. The contract awards raises of 6%, 5.3% and 5% over the next three fiscal years, according to the district.
It also established minimum tier wage rates based on a tiered system centering on years of service and education. If after their 6% raise, an existing employee’s wage was still below the new minimums, the employee was adjusted up to the new established minimum, according to the district.
“I feel like we did better than what anybody could have expected, especially being with the administration, having a brand new union, making a brand new contract from the ground up — it was not an easy process,” she said.
District 122 support staff are historically among the lowest paid in the area, according to the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Bargaining for the contract began in August, with little progress being made as recently as late last month, when the union rallied at the school district office ahead of a meeting.
Tuley said progress came from the union’s commitment to working toward a common goal in spite of disagreements, as support staff represent a wide range of district employees. Conversations with the district also remained civil and productive, Tuley said, allowing them to develop a contract that made as many people happy as possible.
“I think that a big problem is a negotiating team that isn’t listening to each other and actually working for their members and not themselves,” Tuley said. “And also with an administration that will budge at all … I think that sometimes it does take a little action in order to get them to budge.”
District 122 Superintendent Lori Motsch said in a statement to the Daily Southtown that the two parties were able to settle an agreement because both shared a vision of using available resources to offer competitive compensation, “reflecting a mutual goal of attracting and retaining high-quality support staff.”
“The district plans to make support staff feel valued and appreciated by continuing to prioritize fair and competitive compensation while ensuring fiscal responsibility to the community,” Motsch added. “Moving forward, we will focus on open communication and ongoing recognition of their essential contributions to our schools.”
Tuesday’s board meeting ended with the approval of the contract, which was passed around to be signed by each board member as well as Tuley, who was given a seat at the table. Parents, teachers and support staff applauded along with the board once the document had all its required signatures.
Motsch congratulated the union for its “milestone achievement” of ratifying its first contract.
“You have so much dedication to your members, and although you will not miss spending Monday nights together (negotiating), you did great work,” Motsch said.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
