MAR LIN - The director of the Bureau of Mediation at the state Department of Labor and Industry Wednesday encouraged the teachers and school board at Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 to come to terms and end what's become 29 months of contract talks.
"It's apparent if we do this the hard way, it could take many months. He made suggestions on how the parties should approach this. He gave us about a 20-minute sermon," the attorney for the IU board, Charles N. Sweet, New Britain, Bucks County, said Wednesday, referring to the bureau's director, William D. Gross, Harrisburg, who is the mediator for the talks.
"He asked both sides to identify which issues were important to them. And that's why I think this session was productive," said Mark Featherman, an attorney with the law firm of Willig, Williams and Davidson, Philadelphia, who represented the teachers at negotiations Wednesday.
"He believes both parties are sophisticated enough that the talks could wrap up sooner if the parties want it that way," Sweet said.
In an effort to come to terms, the parties agreed to schedule two back-to-back negotiation sessions over two days at the Maple Avenue Campus, 10 a.m. July 8 and 10 a.m. July 9.
"And, hopefully, when we come back in July we'll be able to get an agreement," Featherman said.
"Bill Gross wants us to give him an indication of what we can live with between now and then. If we're able to accept some compromises, we might actually have something. But the union would have to vote on an agreement before the IU board," Sweet said.
"We're hopeful," Featherman said.
The next meeting of the Schuylkill IU 29 board of directors is 7 p.m. July 14 at the Maple Avenue Campus.
"I'm planning to be at that meeting," Sweet said.
The IU's 67 teachers have been working without a contract since their last pact expired. Negotiations began Jan. 9, 2012. The teachers are being represented by Teamsters Local 429, Wyomissing, Berks County.
On May 1, the teachers presented the board with a proposal which included retroactive salaries back to the 2012-13 school year. Their last contract expired, June 30, 2012.
On May 19, the board presented the teachers with a proposal which began with the 2014-15 school year and did not take retroactive salaries into account, according to Sweet.
The teachers did not discuss or mention retroactive salaries Wednesday, Featherman said.
"We're trying to forge a cooperative working relationship going forward," Featherman said.
Sticking points in the talks include salaries and benefits, Sweet said.