Faculty and Staff Across Two Unions Demand Mediation at University of Illinois Springfield

Springfield, IL – Two employee unions at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) have issued demands for mediation after a staggering lack of progress at the bargaining table and unacceptable proposals from the university administration.

Bargaining began for UIS Staff in June and in July for UIS United Faculty (UISUF), which includes tenured and tenure-track faculty. Both chapters are affiliates of University Professionals of Illinois (UPI, Local 4100) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Since negotiations began, both groups have offered numerous proposals for consideration, but university administration have only responded with “no” or given no response at all. This week, the university finally put forth financial offers, both of which were disappointing.

Thom Gebhardt, president of the UIS Staff chapter that represents building service workers, food service workers, clerical, and technical staff, says his members are some of the lowest paid state workers in Illinois. “The living wage in our county for one adult is $20.60 an hour: our members earn about $17. So the university is saying that the essential, front-line people who get to work before anyone else to keep campus safe, clean, and running smoothly – the people who keep students fed – don’t even deserve enough to feed and care for themselves. That’s insulting. The University of Illinois system can fund our contract with the change in their couch cushions.”

Indeed, the statewide university system has seen assets rise by half a billion dollars each of the last several years. Yet at a time of quickly-rising inflation, UIS is offering pennies to the lowest-paid workers who keep campus running. And when it comes to students and the faculty who teach them, the news there is no better. UIS is funded at 72% adequacy, and as a result, students are seeing programs in math, theatre, and philosophy, among others, potentially eliminated.

“There is no reason for austerity when this university system is raking in such large amounts of money. Current students deserve investment,” said Dathan Powell, chapter president of the UIS United Faculty, the union representing tenured and tenure-track faculty. “Our core issues at the bargaining table are fair compensation and a voice in the future of this institution. We have threats of programs being cut with no information on how that will affect our faculty or our students. We want to ensure we can recruit top-notch faculty, and we want to hold on to the great educators we have on campus already. Our students deserve a world-class institution with an administration that invests in them now. And because we haven’t seen that investment – or much of anything – at the bargaining table, we’ve decided that we need the help of a mediator to get us there.”

While mediation has been requested by both unions, it could be weeks until a mediator is assigned. Meanwhile, bargaining continues. UIS Staff will bargain again on November 5, and UISUF on November 21.

The University of Illinois system has a history of pushing contract negotiations with employees to the brink of strike – it’s a pattern that has played out on every campus in the state year after year. In fact, earlier this spring, nontenure track faculty at UIS – also members of UPI Local 4100 – settled their contract only after being forced to a strike vote. The unions hope that bringing a mediator in at this point will bring about fair contracts for both groups of workers without having to escalate further.

The UIS Staff Chapter of UPI represents 67 building and food service workers, clerical staff, and technical staff, and the UIS United Faculty represents 189 faculty at the University of Illinois Springfield. They are affiliated with the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI, Local 4100) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

The University Professionals of Illinois (UPI Local 4100) and represents more than 3,000 education professionals at seven of Illinois' 12 public universities. UPI is affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) represents 103,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in PreK-12 school districts throughout Illinois, faculty and staff at Illinois’ community colleges and universities, public employees under every statewide elected constitutional officer, and retirees.

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