The Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants union contract expired about 2 months ago, on June 30th, 2023. They've been negotiating since March and have been given a "hard no" to their requests, according to Michelle Mitchell, President of DFTA, Local #4324, and Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
The District refuses to comment on the negotiations, per Denise Swarthout, the District's Communications Officer. And Board President Bill Clevenger says it would not be "appropriate" to comment during ongoing negotiations, and that "we can talk about all the issues involved" after negotiations are finished.
Mitchell spoke at Tuesday night's board meeting with several supporters in the crowd behind her. Then Mitchell and Susie Niesman interviewed on Byers & Co Wednesday morning. Other reporting is available.
Mitchell says she wants administrators to visit the schools and see all that Teaching Assistants do.
Disclaimer: I participated in a DFTA rally in 2019 or 2020. I also provided my photos from Aug 22, 2023 to DFTA to use in any way they see fit.
The crowd at the August 22, 2023 Board of Education Meeting, with several members wearing blue shirts in solidarity with DFTA
What is DFTA asking for?
According to Mitchell, the union is asking for:
- $2.50 raise for 1st & 2nd year TAs
- $2.00 raise for 3rd & 4th year TAs
- Four personal days (an increase from three)
- Allow TAs to enroll their dependent in the same building as them
- Additional compensation for diaper-changing
- Senior assistants, who have served DPS for over 30 years get $1,000 annual bonus for their loyalty
- Allow TAs with degrees to substitute teach, and provide additional compensation
- Extra pay for TAs who are in the Special Ed Learning Academy, Essential Skills, Calm Care (in-school suspension), since it's "hard to keep people in there", LPNs and the Transition Rooms
- For retired DPS teachers who return as TAs, start at a 3rd-year pay rate, rather than the 1st-year pay rate.
- Additional compensation when "classes are split"
- The option of year-round pay, which she says they're close to getting
Additional information is available on the August 10th DFTA Scorecard, which provides some details about the state of negotations, provided to me by DFTA Secretary Corletta E. Murray on August 24th, 2023.
The DFTA Scorecard. The format is modified to fit it on one page.
Trouble with Negotiations
Mitchell says they asked for same-school enrollment, but they were told "to our face" that they were "not a part of the community".
The District representative who told her that is now deceased, and unable to respond to the accusation, so I am withholding their name. And she says the District did not record the meeting, so I can't provide proof.
Mitchell says she can't name a specific board member who's to blame for making negotiations difficult. She says "just the money guy, I guess" Chief Operations Officer Dr. Mike Curry.
Mitchell says "I guess he's the one who's giving the hard 'no's, youknow, because he's finagling the numbers, but yet they have a $40 million dollar surplus, yaknow, and they have $4 million dollars in an account over in China, that they are investing in."
She says "Invest in us. That's what we're asking them to do."
The 2019 negotiations led to a strike. Mitchell says "we're hoping to avoid a strike."
DFTA requested a federal mediator get involved, with costs split by the union and district, which they did over the 2019 contract as well. Mitchell says last time "we accomplished nothing by bringing that mediator in."
She says mediators are backed up, and "Right now, we have not been notified of a timeline. However, Security [SEIU 73] is bringing theirs to the table in September."
The District's negotiation team is made up of Board Members Dr. Kevin Collins-Brown and Alana Banks, the District attorney, Chief Operations Officer Dr. Mike Curry, the HR Director, and a few principals from the District, according to Susie Niesman.
"Alana [Banks] has not been present at every bargaining session," and Dr. Collins-Brown has been there and "has supported us at times," though "the majority of them stay silent," says Niesman.
"We've never had a Superintendent or an Assistant Superintendent at the table," according to Michelle Mitchell.
Members Present at August 22, 2023 Board of Education Meeting. From left-to-right: Mark Reynolds, Al Scheider, Dr. Kevin Collins-Brown, Jason Dion, Bill Clevenger, Superintendent Dr. Rochelle Clark, Board Secretary Melissa Bradford
Alana Banks was absent from Tuesday's Board Meeting. Board Member Will Wetzel was also absent, though he posted publicly that he would be absent due to his mother-in-law passing away.
Diaper Changing
Mitchell says Pershing Early Learning & Essential Skills TAs are already changing diapers, since the District no longer requires the littles to be potty-trained before attending school.
She says the District also wants newly-hired Kindergarten and 1st-grade TAs to help with diaper changing.
Mitchell says they are "absolutely not" happy about the diaper changing. She says the district should offer a dollar amount for compensation, as it was their idea to add this responsibility.
How to support (or oppose) DFTA
The Illinois Federation of Teachers is asking folks to support DFTA by emailing the School Board and asking them "to settle a fair contract".
To share your opinion, you can contact Board Members by phone or email, or speak publicly at School Board meetings.
Board Members' phone numbers and email addresses are on the DPS Website. Or you can copy+paste this into the 'To' field of your email: Bill Clevenger <bclevenger@dps61.org>, Jason Dion <jdion@dps61.org>, Alana Banks <abanks@dps61.org>, Dr. Kevin Collins-Brown <kcollins-brown@dps61.org>, Will Wetzel <wwetzel@dps61.org>, Mark Reynolds <mareynolds@dps61.org>, Al Scheider <ascheider@dps61.org>
Board Meetings are usually at the Keil Building. Meeting agendas & dates are available online. Upcoming dates are:
- Tuesday, Aug 29 @ 7:15am, special session
- Tuesday, Sep 12 @ 6:30pm, regular meeting
- Tuesday, Sep 26 @ 6:30pm, regular meeting
Also, Chief Operation Officer Dr. Mike Curry can be reached by email at mcurry@dps61.org.
Financial Information
Board Member Mark Reynolds had asked about investments in China during the June 27th, 2023 Board Meeting.
The June 27th Board Packet shows a ~$10 million "cost" in "Savings Deposit Account - BANK OF CHINA (ICS - DDA)" for investments.
Dr. Mike Curry told Reynolds that's something "PMA works with" and that "PMA is our investment account," saying "they hold most of our money" and that DPS "runs most of their money through an investment account, and then we reach out and claim some of that money for payroll and bills. And then we entrust them to make deposits and investments, based on their expertise."
Tuesday's Meeting Packet shows a ~$43 million Education Fund balance as of July 31st. This is a $10 million increase from the June 30th balance reported at the August 1 Finance Committee Meeting.
Other Issues
Mitchell says "I am aware of issues with [the] Security [union]," SEIU Local 73, but declined to comment on it. The Security contract also expired on June 30, 2023.
We've sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request for more information about union negotiations.
I emailed the District the first draft of this article on August 23rd, and they have not responded as of August 24th.