Head Start staff urge RPC to address stalled bargaining; CEO schedules reset meeting with union

Natalie Nagel, a staff representative with Ask Me Council 31, told commissioners at the Regional Planning Commission’s May 22 meeting that Head Start bargaining has been infrequent and poorly paced, and that the conduct at the bargaining table has damaged workplace relationships.

"You can't get much collective bargaining done in 2 hours every four to six weeks," Nagel said, describing sessions where management would not release five bargaining team members from work and saying the lead negotiator took an extended vacation in the middle of the schedule. She added that the tone in the room "has been overly loud, aggressive, and dismissive," and asked the board to "involve yourselves in what's happening with these negotiations and decide if this treatment lives up to RPC standards for how they want to treat their employees."

The issue drew a second public comment. Candy Young Bloodood, a Head Start employee and Ask Me union site chief steward at the West Champaign site, said initial management wage offers were "disgraceful and insulting," describing a 5% proposal she said would amount to only a few cents more per hour for many staff. "Without us there is no program. We are the ones that teach the children. We are the ones that feed the children," she said, warning that low offers and rising insurance costs are undercutting morale and prompting employees to seek second or third jobs.

The CEO, reporting later in the meeting, said RPC scheduled a meeting with union leadership on May 28 that will include union leaders (the CEO named Dave Beck and referenced Natalie Nagel), the COO and outside counsel, and that the state's attorney's office will be involved. The CEO described the May 28 meeting as an opportunity for "a reset so that we can get back to negotiating this contract."

Why it matters: Head Start staff provide early childhood education and family services whose continuity depends on retaining qualified teachers and site staff. Commissioners and management will need to balance grant restrictions, budget constraints and employee retention as negotiations continue.

What’s next: The CEO said the reset meeting will take place May 28 and will include outside counsel and union leadership; further public updates were not scheduled in the meeting transcript.