SEA Snapshot: Steering Through the Week
This week’s Monday Message highlights several upcoming events, including today’s Building Rep Meeting and the SEA/SEEO Tacos & Trivia Night. You will also find an election notice for an upcoming SEA/Region 35 Election in December. Tomorrow the SEA Research Team will be meeting again at the Palatine IEA Office to continue their work with prioritizing the proposals that will be used in the upcoming contract negotiations. The SEA will keep you posted on when the research is done, the table team is formed, and negotiations begin.
SEA Building Rep Meeting TODAY
As a member of the SEA, you are invited to attend today’s Building Rep Meeting in the PLC from 3:30-5:00 PM. Some of the information that will be discussed at today’s meeting include changes to our health insurance plan for 2027, Weingarten Rights, and collective bargaining FAQs. There will also be a special presentation to help our membership better understand our salary schedule.
Your building reps will be having a 10-minute meeting sometime within the next week or so. Be sure to attend!
SEA/Region 35 Election Notice
The next SEA/Region 35 Election is taking place on December 7. Here is a link to the election notice.
Nomination forms are now available to become a delegate to the Illinois Education Association’s Representative Assembly on April 8-10 in Rosemont. The SEA has 14 open delegate positions.
Additionally, Region 35 has room for three more representatives from the SEA to serve on the Region 35 Council. Two positions are for a 1.5 year term and one position is for a 0.5 year term. Please submit your nomination forms via the QR code on the Election Notice by November 16. Any questions? Contact Kelly O’Reilly, our elections chair.
SEA & SEEO Tacos and Trivia Night – November 9
Let’s get ready for another Tacos and Trivia Night! All SEA and SEEO members are invited to attend our annual member appreciation event taking place on Monday, November 9th, from 5-8 PM in the PLC. We typically have this event to kick off American Education Week, but we moved it up one week due to parent-teacher conferences. Dinner will be from 5-6 PM followed by trivia.
Start forming those teams of 4-6 people! You can have multiple teams from each school. Or, you can also choose to be put on a team with people from other schools. Not interested in trivia? It’s okay, come join us for the TACOS! Please RSVP here by November 4.
Weingarten Rights Cards
At today’s building rep meeting, your building reps will be receiving Weingarten Rights cards to distribute to all SEA/SEEO members in your buildings. As a reminder, union members have Weingarten Rights, which allows you to stop a conversation with a building administrator if you feel the discussion could lead to being disciplined or terminated or affect you personal working conditions. You can then request an association representative to be present at the meeting or to continue the conversation. Without representation, you DO NOT have to answer any questions.
On the other side of the Weingarten Rights card, we added information on what to do you you be contacted by DCFS. You do NOT need to speak to an investigator without representation as well. Your building adminstrators should be aware of this information. When DCFS is involved, so is representation from SEA’s leadership team and our UniServ Director.
IEA Early Career Fall Blitz – October 24 – LAST CHANCE TO RSVP
Registration is closing soon for you to join IEA’s Early Career Committee and other local Early Career educators (years 1-10 in the profession) for the Early Career Fall Blitz in Oakbrook this Saturday, October 24th. This is a FREE event and includes lunch. Resources and promotional items will also be provided for Early Career Region Representatives to take back to their regions. For more information and how to register, check out the link to the Early Career Fall Blitz.
Coats for Kids
Schaumburg Township is hosting its annual children’s winterwear drive for District 54 students, “Coats for Kids,” October 19-23. Each year, Schaumburg Township collects NEW coats, snow pants, winter boots, hats and gloves for low-income students in our district. You can drop off your donation at today’s SEA building rep meeting.
Forgot your donation items today? You can drop them off at several locations: the Township of Schaumburg Building, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison’s Office, Motorola, Trickster Cultural Center, or the Schaumburg Library.
Workplace Solutions – Our Employee Assistance Plan
As an employee of District 54, you have access to our employee assistance plan called Workplace Solutions. You can visit their portal at www.wseap.com but will need to enter our district’s access code. If you do not have the access code, you can contact Diana Peters in HR. Workplace Solutions provides confidential counseling, strategies for work-life balance, as well as legal and financial support. Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling their toll-free number: 877-215-6614. There is no cost to you or your eligible family members to utilize the Workplace Solutions Services. This is also a confidential service to you.
SEA/SEEO Craft and Vendor Fair
Mark you calendars for our 4th Annual SEA/SEEO Craft and Vendor Fair on Saturday, November 7th from 10 AM – 4 PM. This event serves as a fundraiser for the D54 Education Foundation and takes place in the PLC. We have over 30 crafters and vendors registered for our annual event. Be sure to let your friends and family know about our event. We will be raffling off TONS of gift cards and baskets donated by our participants and members of the D54 Education Foundation. A concession stand will also be available throughout the event. Hope to see you there!
Weekly Contract Reminder – Compensation
Educators moving to the Master’s or Master’s equivalency column will be credited with a single vertical step on the column as an addition to the step rank previously held on the Bachelor’s or Bachelor’s +15 column.
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For more information on how to understand our SEA Salary Schedule, join us for today’s building rep meeting.
Upcoming Events
Monday, October 19: SEA Building Rep Meeting, 3:30 – 5 PM in the PLC
Tuesday, October 20: SEA’s Contract Negotiation Research Team Meeting, 8:30 AM – 3 PM at the Palatine IEA Office
Saturday, October 24: IEA Early Career Fall Blitz, St. Charles or Bloomington| Register here
Wednesday, October 28: Report card website open
Monday, November 9: SEA/SEEO Tacos and Trivia Night – RSVP here
