DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) -The Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants said they will suspend their strike and return to classrooms without a contract.
DFTA President Paula Busboom said students deserve to be in school.
“We assist 537 special needs students, and we just can’t let this go on without considering their needs,” said DFTA President Paula Busboom. “We appreciate the support we’ve been given by those students, their parents, Decatur teachers, and the community. But it’s clear that the Board of Education is operating without a conscience and needs to reassess its priorities. I’d call them childish, but that’s an insult to children. They’ve escalated their tactics to the point that they are playing with people’s lives. It’s unfair and wrong. Our members work to provide quality education assistance to our students. We simply want to negotiate a fair and reasonable contract that allows us to meet our own basic needs. We stand ready to bargain.”
Thursday marked day three of the Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants' strike. However, TA's will return to work on Friday without a contract. The union has requested additional bargaining dates from the Board of Education through their mediator. They are waiting for a response.
Busboom said they were notified that their health insurance would be cancelled if they did not return to work.
“It’s fitting that on Halloween, they pull this trick,” said Busboom. “They’re trying to hit us where it hurts and take away exactly what we’re fighting to keep. Instead, they should be setting up a meeting with us through our mediator so we can settle this the right way and get back to our students with a settled contract.”
In a Thursday afternoon news conference, Paula Busboom thanked students, parents, bus drivers and many others affected by the strike. She said "Because we heard you and we listened to you, the DFTA members will suspend their strike."
She also said, "let me be crystal clear... there is no tentative agreement. We are still working without a contract. We continue to ask the board to bargain with DFTA. We will continue to pursue action of their comments and unfair tactics."
Busboom said we will fight for all of our members to have a reasonable contract.
Decatur Public Schools released a letter to the parents of students not able to attend classes.
The letter said parents of affected students may request an IEP meeting after the strike concludes to determine the impact of lost time and compensatory services needed as a result. This cannot be determined until the teaching assistants return to work. Parents can call the special education administrator assigned to your child's school to schedule a meeting, or call the MPSED office at 217-362-3055.
The district said in the letter "we remain hopeful that a resolution will be reached soon so that students can return to school."
With the return of DFTA teachers all programs that were suspended during the strike will be reinstated, DPS said in a statement.
Busboom said their decision to go back to work was not easy but "we will not have our students suffer any longer." However, DFTA members could walk out again at anytime if a contract is not reached.
DFTA and the board have been in talks for several months. They've meet four times with a federal mediator.
Members of DFTA have filed charges with the Illinois Labor Relations Board for unfair tactics, among other complaints since negotiations began.
The last offer from the Board will require teaching assistants with family plans to pay 247 percent more for their insurance, and those with single plans will have to pay 64 percent more. Those increases are unaffordable. The Board has since refused to come back to the table.
