A meeting last week between the Board of Education and its teachers' union in one Illinois town has left one group unhappy.

Members have voiced their displeasure with what it views as a lack of urgency in negotiations for better pay and more support. Contracts for the Meridian Federation of Teachers in Macon expired in August. Seventy teachers who are part of the bargaining unit have met with the board only six times since June.

Brian Pekovitch, teacher and president of the union, said they are seeking a resolution.

"We have another session planned with the mediator on Wednesday," Pekovitch noted. "We're very hopeful that we will be able to resolve these differences and come to an agreement to avoid a strike. That's the absolute last resort that we want to have happen."

Ninety-two percent of voting members of the union agreed last week to authorize a strike if more substantial progress is not made. The district has had difficulties even attracting substitute teachers for the school year. According to the education site niche.com, Macon County's teacher-to-student ratio is 14-1.

Pekovitch praised the support of parents and argued teachers are shouldering more than what their job description requires, which is taking a toll. He acknowledged teaching has changed from pre-pandemic days causing classrooms to struggle to meet students' needs. The union wants teachers to stay in the district and not seek higher salaries elsewhere.

"Our biggest thing has been just teacher retention," Pekovitch explained. "There's a problem with our pay when you're looking at teachers that have longevity in the district. Once you've been here longer, if you have higher education, there's just some gaps in there that we're trying to close to keep our more experienced teachers here."

Niche.com indicates the average teacher salary in the district is around $56,000. Pekovitch added the mindset that nice schools and newer technology alone would attract people to want to be in Macon "is just not the case anymore." The Meridian Community Unit School District serves a little more than 900 students in grades pre-K through 12.


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Thousands are expected to rally in Harrisburg on Monday for a "Raise the Wage and Immigrant Rights Day of Action."

More than 47,000 Pennsylvania workers earn the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour or less.

Jarrett Smith, legislative director for the Service Employees International Union, said Pennsylvania hasn't raised its minimum wage in more than 15 years, while more than 30 other states and Washington, D.C., have all moved toward $15 an hour.

Smith said this makes it harder for the state to stay competitive.

"We are demanding that we raise the wage in Pennsylvania to $15 an hour," he said, and "that we include a cost-of-living adjustment so that we don't have to keep coming back, year after year."

Smith said the coalition Pennsylvania Stands Up is leading the protest, backed by labor and community groups and some lawmakers.

Two years ago, the House passed a bill to raise the state minimum wage to $15 by 2026, but the Senate hasn't acted. Smith said Gov. Josh Shapiro has pointed out it could bring in up to $60 million a year in tax revenue.

Smith said it's key to distinguish low-wage from minimum-wage workers. Nearly 1.2 million Pennsylvanians earn wages less than $15 an hour, and many are single moms. He added that these workers often support families, pushing the state to cover gaps with programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.

"When we talk about how do we actually lift workers out of poverty," he said, "one of the things that you can do is raise that floor and give families the financial independence to actually earn a wage that's going to allow them to not have to make decisions between paying a grocery bill or getting health care."

Smith noted that Pennsylvania is losing workers to neighboring states with higher minimum wages, making it hard to keep a strong workforce.

"We are one of the fastest-shrinking states in the Northeast," he said. "New Jersey, across the border, they have a $15 minimum wage to start, and they're already increasing it for certain workforces, like health care and education."

He added that SEIU represents around 80,000 service workers in the state, across industries such as government, health care and food service. The union is also negotiating its first national Starbucks contract.


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New national rankings out this week show South Dakota jumped a few spots higher in teacher pay for each state. However, there are questions about whether the shift will be temporary.

The National Education Association puts South Dakota at 46th in the U.S. for compensation offered to educators around the state. The current rank is the highest South Dakota has achieved since reporting began. Teachers in the state now earn an average salary of more than $56,000.

Loren Paul, president of the South Dakota Education Association, credits higher bumps in state aid the past few years.

"That extra effort from our state gets us out of the bottom rankings," Paul explained. "It also is supportive in recruiting teachers and also retaining teachers in the profession."

In this year's legislative session, education got a smaller funding increase of 1.25%, falling behind inflation. Paul cautioned it could mean South Dakota will slide back in future rankings. The smaller bump came as part of a "belt tightening" mood at the State Capitol this year, with uncertainty over federal funding and declines in sales tax revenue.

Educators said they understand the budget challenges facing South Dakota but Paul contended taking the foot off the accelerator only puts the state in a troubling pattern it has been trying to shake off.

"It has to be year after year," Paul stressed. "It's not a, 'Oh, we're going to address this for a year or two, and then we're going to fall back into very small increases,' or no increases, or actually going backwards."

He added when shrinking investments cause a state to tumble in rankings, public pressure goes back up because no state wants to be seen as holding the last spot.

The union noted when adjusted for inflation, teachers in many parts of the country still make less than they did a decade ago, and if they cannot afford to cover basic expenses, some will choose to leave the profession.

Wyoming labor unions will gather Thursday in Casper in honor of May Day, a holiday celebrated in 80 countries commemorating the labor movement and promoting workers' rights.

Dirk Andrews, vice president of the Wyoming Education Association and an organizer for the event, said he is not only expecting teachers, but also AFL-CIO labor organizers, postal workers, firefighters and unionized writers and grocery store workers. Everyone is invited, Andrews added.

"Our mission really is just to try and unite our working class across Wyoming," Andrews explained. "We're the ones that are working in the fields every single day. Doing the hard work and making sure that we're serving our community."

Andrews noted the event is family-friendly and there will be summer learning kits and treats for children. The Casper rally will take place May 1 at 5 p.m. in Healing Park.

Several bills passing the Wyoming Legislature this session will affect labor groups. Those affecting teachers include one expanding the state's education savings accounts, or voucher program, and another repealing gun-free zones in the state, including its schools.

Andrews stressed the Wyoming Education Association's focus is less on legislation and more on education.

"Really our focus is ensuring that public education is fully funded, that we're doing what's best for our students on a daily basis, that we have buildings and all of those things that are helping our students learn to the best of their ability," Andrews outlined.

Andrews hopes the rally will "bring the working class together," he added, to "do better for everybody."


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