VANCOUVER, Wash. (KATU) — After almost 10 hours of mediation with Evergreen Public Schools, Mindy Troffer-Cooper, the president for the PSE SEIU LOCAL 1948, confirmed Wednesday night that they did not reach a deal with the district.
It means that on Thursday, the union will be voting on whether to strike.
This comes as the school year is less than a week away.
The union represents about 1,400 workers, including paraeducators, maintenance workers, bus drivers, and other staff.
The union is asking for better wages and changes to benefits.
"We're calling for a livable wage. We want safety and security for our employees. We want people to be paid for the whole time they're working," said Troffer-Cooper.
One paraeducator, who KATU spoke with, says he made more money working a retail job than he does at his current job.
"I worked in retail for 15 years and the work was soul-crushing, demeaning, but my bank account never hurt. I now feel fulfilled; my soul is where it needs to be. I'm helping the future of America, but my bank account tells a different story,” Derek Sytsma, a special education paraeducator, said.
In a statement, Evergreen Public Schools said the employees are “extremely valuable” and it looks forward to coming to an agreement with the union “hopefully sooner than later."
"We do have significant budget challenges and all of our financial decisions need to be made to support the overall financial health of our district to best serve our students,” the district said.
Source: katu.com
