Oak Park employees to picket village hall - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Oak Park employees to picket village hall

The Village of Oak Park's largest non-public safety union, SEIU Local 73, will go on strike Saturday and Monday.

The final decision by union negotiators comes after a final mediation session Thursday afternoon at village hall proved fruitless.

The union said it is striking "after being continually disrespected by village management in negotiations."

"They called in (SEIU Local 73) vice president Tim McDonald on the 4th," said spokesman Adam Rosen Thursday. First they set (the meeting) up for 9 a.m., then that changed to noon.

Rosen said the union had asked Interim Village Manager Cara Pavlicek to "present us with your last, best and final offer." He said what they got was unchanged from the last mediation session.

"At 1:30 p.m., I got a call from (McDonald) saying, ‘We got the same proposal. We're going out on strike.'"

The strike comes after seven months of negotiations between the union and village management. Rosen said the two remaining unresolved issues include wages and being penalized for using sick time.

"Village management received a 2 percent wage increase at the beginning of the year, as well as a 1 percent lump sum bonus. However, the latest proposal from village management to workers was a 1 percent wage increase and a possible 1.5 percent merit increase."

Pavlicek has insisted merit pay is a standard and appropriate way to help ensure desirable performance and conduct by village employees.

The union insists just as strongly the concept is mostly a tactic to keep wages down.

"Merit raises have never worked in the past and are just a way for village management to get away without giving raises," said Senior Administrative Clerk and Union bargaining committee member Marijo Lopez.

Strikers will picket outside the village hall, 123 Madison St., from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday.

"We realize the importance of assisting residents," said Lopez. "but this has become the only way to show village management how crucial we all are in the village's day-to-day operations."