Rockford teachers strike set for Thursday.
Members of the Rockford Education Association wait for the start of a closed-door meeting about contract negotiations Monday, March 26, 2012, at the Coronado Performing Arts Center in Rockford.
No negotiating sessions are planned between now and Thursday.
Members of the Rockford Education Association have had the legal authority to strike since last week. Their old contract expired last July. The REA members have been working all this year under the terms of the old contract.
The Rockford Register Star:
A strike is set for Thursday that would cancel classes and close schools to students unless the Rockford School District and Rockford Education Association reach a tentative labor agreement before then.
During an all-member meeting at the Coronado Performing Arts Center today, 1,482 REA members voted to strike with 74 voting against.
Guilford High School teacher Sean Laughlin compared ongoing contract talks to