Proviso High School District 209 teachers, staff plan to strike Friday

MAYWOOD, Ill. - Teachers and staff with Proviso High School District 209 are drumming up support as they prepare to walk off the job.

The teachers are set to go on strike Friday as contract negotiations with the district have hit a snag.

We are just three days away from that potential strike date. This would include not just teachers but social workers, librarians and counselors.

On Tuesday night, teachers and supporters were expected to picket outside a school board meeting taking place at Proviso East High School in Maywood.

The teachers union says they failed to reach an agreement during negotiations over the weekend.

The union says the two sides are still far apart on compensation and class sizes, and they accused the superintendent of negotiating in bad faith.

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Teachers also claim students in the mostly Black district aren't given the same resources as mostly white districts next door.

"I do not feel like they are taking it seriously," said Proviso Teachers Union President Maggie Riley. "We have offered the superintendent multiple days to bargain. We offered Super Bowl Sunday, every day this week, and he still refuses."

District officials say in a statement they've offered a 6.5 percent salary increase over three years, and the union has not responded to that offer.

The statement from the school board president says they continue to work with the union and are engaging in good faith negotiations to avoid a strike. The potential strike date set for Friday is actually a development day for teachers and a day off for students.