District 15, DTU Approve New 2-Year Contract

After more than six months of contentious negotiations between District 15 and the District 15 Transportation Union (DTU), a new two-year contract has been ratified.

The agreement, according to a joint statement from D15 and the DTU, includes a ‘hard freeze’ on transportation workers’ compensation.

“There will be no wage increases for the duration of this contract,” said Peggy Babcock, District 15 school board president. “A new lower rate HMO option for health insurance also has been offered to the DTU, which will help to reduce costs.”

Safety concerns regarding transportation workers were a recurring theme brought up during the months of back and forth negotiations which began in January and ended in mid-June. 

Babcock said DTU members now will have to go through a more rigorous physical exam guided by Illinois Department of Transportation standards, as compared to a previous, less intense exam dictated by the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.

Current school board member Scott Herr, who was involved in the contract negotiations prior to the April 9 election as board vice president, said the contract doesn’t accomplish enough in five important areas; safety, reliability, professionalism, efficiency and collaboration.

“I believe a safe environment requires a culture of safety. Although there are provisions that will likely improve safety, I’m not convinced these address core safety issues and that there is a commitment from the top to a culture of safety,” he said.

Herr said collaboration would not describe how the negotiations went over the last several months, and that would be necessary to address shortcomings by the DTU in the future.

He also stated the district’s cost per mile for transportation is 30 percent higher than comparable, nearby school districts that have both in-house and outsourced transportation departments.

Rich Bokor, current school board vice president said no contract is perfect, and what really matters is how it is executed.

Babcock added that the contract was the best deal the school district could have made, and added that more accountability for absenteeism and discipline of transportation employees are added features that enhance its value.

Before the vote was taken, school board member Gerard Iannuzelli said he would have preferred to see a three-year contract, due to how the issue played out during the April election. 

At the end, the vote was 4-3 in favor of ratifying the contract.

School board member Manjula Sriram, Herr and Iannuzzelli all voted against the contract, while Dave Seiffert, James Ekeberg, Babcock and Bokor all voted to approve it.

The board also approved rescinding the Reduction in Force (RIF) notices that had been sent out to DTU employees earlier in the year when it appeared uncertain that a contract would be reached. 

Seiffert, Ekeberg, Babcock and Bokor all voted in favor, while Sriram, Herr and Iannuzzelli all abstained.

DTU employees will be notified of their right to be recalled to employment, effective July 1, according to the statement.