Teachers at Kishwaukee Community College in Malta plan to walk off their jobs next Wednesday at 12:15 after a new contract was not reached between bargaining teams this week.
The Kishwaukee College Education Association has 81 full-time employees. Negotiations have been going on since last March.
Members of the union say they are frustrated with the College Board of Trustees who rejected their latest offer that included more than 1.6 million dollars in savings compared to the last contract.
Negotiations will resume next Wednesday as a federal mediator will be present.
The union says that comparable colleges in the region pay their faculty on the average between 5,000 to 15,000 dollars more than at Kish.
Officials at Kish say that with the work stoppage by the teachers, the college will continue operations with the least amount of disruption. Credit classes will be suspended during this time. Kish will remain open with all support services available to students.
Negotiating teams were close to a tentative agreement last Tuesday with only 2 outstanding issues remaining. Kish President Dr. Tom Choice says that the faculty was less interested in getting an agreement than they are about striking and disrupting the education of our students. He said that he can not think of anything more disrupting that walking away in the middle of a school day.
Status on the classes and other relevent information will be available on the college's website at www.kishwaukeecollege.edu.
Matt Read, president of the association, said that the college's latest offer could force some teacher to leave Kish in the future. He said the students deserve a faculty that has deep ties to their communities and experience in the classroom.
Kish officials hope a tentative agreement can be reached next Wednesday. Money and benefits remain key issues in the new contract.
