Teachers protest for fair deal
Classes starts Aug. 23
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown City School District teachers gathered Monday outside New Bethel Baptist Church to press the school board for a fair contract to avert a threatened strike when school starts Aug 23.
But negotiations that began at 8 a.m. ended by early afternoon with no agreement. Talks are scheduled to resume Thursday.
Throughout the negotiations, YEA protesters outside chanted to the administration inside the church: "What do we want? Fair contracts! When do we want it? Now!" and "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, that's what a contract means to me!"
"No deal done. We're negotiating, that's all I can say. We will be back Thursday," YEA spokesman Jim Courim said.
The teachers' contract expired June 30. The union announced a 10-day strike notice last week, and the members are expected to report for professional development today through Friday.
With Aug. 23 marking the start of the 2023-24 school year, YEA President Eric Teutsch said union members hope to reach an agreement.
The union asked the school board and district administration for negotiating sessions in March, but the sessions kept getting canceled by the district, and the first in-person talks happened May 4, according to Courim.
Three days of bargaining in late July were assisted by a federal mediator.
School district communications director Stacy Quinones said, "Although some major hurdles were agreed to at the table, including health insurance provisions including insurance premiums and coverage amounts, the parties remain far apart on wages."
She also explained that the union's final demand was more than 2.5 times the district's budgeted amount.
Teutsch said the core issues between parties relate to working conditions and contract language, moreso than wages.
The YEA announced last week it had filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Youngstown Board of Education with the State Employment Relations Board. The union claims the school board violated state labor laws when it openly discussed specific terms of negotiations in a news release.