A united message from District 58 and the DGCMA
The Downers Grove Grade School District 58 Board of Education approved a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with the Downers Grove Custodial Maintenance Association (DGCMA) at its regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10, following six months of negotiation sessions. The current collective bargaining agreement expired on July 1, 2018.
“District 58 is pleased to provide our hard-working and dedicated custodial and maintenance staff with a new contract that offers competitive raises and benefits. These staff members work hard each and every day to provide for and support wonderful learning environments for our students and staff across the district,” said Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli. “The contract also considers the District’s finances and ensures continued fiscal responsibility to our taxpayers. I commend the negotiations team for their many hours of collaborative efforts in support of this contract agreement!”
The DGCMA ratified the contract on Friday, Oct. 5.
“The negotiations team comprised DGCMA members and administrators who collaboratively, openly and respectfully worked together to create a fair contract,” said DGCMA President and Negotiations Chair Angie Rybarczyk. “The new contract values our custodial and maintenance staff and recognizes their continued commitment to students, while also ensuring long-term financial stability,” said DGCMA President and Negotiations Chair Angie Rybarczyk.
Highlights of the new contract include:
- The development of a salary schedule that recognizes and rewards years of service by custodial and maintenance employees in District 58, resulting in an average increase of 4 percent for the first year of the contract.
- Salary increases of 3.75 percent, 3.5 percent and 3.25 percent within the schedule for years two, three and four of the contract, respectively.
- A shift in health insurance costs where a greater percentage of the premiums will be paid by employees while maintaining the high level of benefits. Additionally, a new District Health and Wellness Committee will be created to review and monitor the current status of the District’s health insurance coverage and examine possible cost containment options.
- The contract retains retirement benefits for employees, while also protecting the District from additional costs associated with penalties from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF).
“It was a pleasure to work with the DGCMA negotiating team,” said Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Dr. Jayne Yudzentis. “We were able to talk through some rather complex and challenging topics while working collaboratively to come to a positive resolution.”
DGCMA team members, Jason Suchy and Bill Riban, concurred.
“The DGCMA Negotiations Team would like to thank Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Dr. Jayne Yudzentis and the fellow team members for how the negotiations were conducted,” Suchy said. “They were an extremely professional team.”
“The process was at times long and difficult, but in the end the professionalism on both sides of the table is what helped us get to a compromise and get a contract done,” Riban added.
The DGCMA represents the District’s full-time and part-time custodial and maintenance employees.