Waukegan teachers strike continues as salary negotiations stall

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) -- Negotiations between Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 and the Waukegan Teachers' Council stalled after 14-hour session on Sunday. Teachers have been on strike since Oct. 2.

Waukegan schools were already closed on Monday because of Columbus Day.

The teachers union said they want salary increases up to 9 percent, as well as changes to health care benefits and the length of a contract. The district said both sides have come to agreements on all working conditions except salary.

The district team said it has reached the financial limits given by the Waukegan Board of Education. Officials need to meet with the board to discuss those terms further. The union said this is why it wanted to negotiate directly with the board from the beginning.

"We need to sit across the table from people who can actually make a deal that will bring 17,000 students back to school," Waukegan Teachers' Council President Kathy Schwarz said.

Another meeting with the federal mediator is being scheduled.