A tentative labor agreement out of Rock Valley College eases students' fears of a strike. "Hopefully, we have averted a walk out, at least for this semester," says student, Johnathan Stout.
At around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday, negotiating teams said they've reached a deal. The faculty union and the RVC Board of Trustees need to approve the contract before it's official.
"While we go through this stage the students don't have to worry about a strike and the faculty don't have to worry about implementation. Hopefully, when we get an agreement, both sides sign, then we don't have to worry about that at all," says Faculty Union President Tom Alisankus.
"I think we can say that what really motivates us in the past couple of days has been the interest of the students," RVC's Lead Negotiator, Joe Perkoski.
Students have a lot riding on the agreement. "I'm just hoping it goes through because it is my last semester here. I already put five weeks of work in," says student, Courtney Carlson.
"My plan is to be done by next Christmas so I need this semester and I need summer classes in order to get done so fast. That's why I hope they don't go on strike," says student, Cody Paul.
Finalizing the deal could take about two weeks.
