Friday, September 01, 2000
Teachers reduce demand for raise
Strike still possible in Cleveland schools
The Associated Press
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Teachers made a concession on their pay demands Thursday in contract talks aimed at averting a strike at midnight against Ohio's largest school district.
Negotiators for the 5,000-member Cleveland Teachers Union would not publicly detail their counteroffer. The dispute centers on salaries.
“We've come down from 6 percent,” said CTU President Richard DeColibus, who emerged from a lunchtime break in the closed-door talks to put odds of a strike at 40 percent.
The union had sought the raise for each of the next three years. The school board's latest offer was 3.5 percent in the first year, then 3.75 percent and 4 percent in succeeding years.
Mr. DeColibus said the next move was up to school negotiators. District spokeswoman Pat Martin said there was no immediate comment on the union counteroffer.
The starting teacher's salary is $28,666 under the old contract. Teachers in the district for five years who have a master's degree are paid $37,741.
The negotiations were held in the offices of a federal mediator in this Cleveland suburb.
Both sides appeared intent on avoiding public comments that might harden positions. They agreed in advance to let parents know by 10:30 p.m. Thursday whether schools would be open today.
The district has 77,000 students.
The talks focused on pay after both sides agreed Wednesday on another key issue: length of the school day.
The teachers and the district agreed to adjust a 20-minute block of time at the middle schools.
Both sides also agreed to add 30 minutes to the workday of elementary teachers, bringing it to 6 1/2 hours.
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