UIS faculty and service workers vote to authorize strike

Members of the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) Tenure / Tenure Track and Service Workers unions of University of Illinois Springfield held a March 19 rally to coincide with the University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting being held at the UIS Student Union. An official vote was taken among union members prior to the rally, and both unions voted unanimously to authorize a strike if the next round of negotiations does not result in a contract. The service workers union’s next round of negotiations took place March 20, with the faculty union following suit March 23.

“There are still a lot of issues out on the table and the sessions have gone into mediation,” said Dathan Powell, chapter president of UIS United Faculty. “Our hope in calling for mediation was that we would begin to see better collaboration, because all through last fall we didn’t seem to be making any headway with the administration. We come to the table hopeful that we can make a strong contract that will govern what the university’s responsibilities are and what the faculty’s responsibilities are. And we’re just faced with a lot of rejection.”

Allan Bettis has been working in building service at UIS for seven years. “I thought it was gonna be a really good opportunity,” he said on Thursday. “And it’s been good, but it’s also been rough at the same time. I got two children at home, and I have to work two jobs just to make things meet. I just wish it paid a little better so I didn’t have to spend so much time away from my family.”

UIS staff are paid $16.80 per hour, while a living wage for an individual with no dependents in Sangamon County is $21.97, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator. The union’s hope is to negotiate a $1 per year raise over the next four years, but so far an agreement has not been forthcoming.

Another issue the faculty union is attempting to address through bargaining is artificial intelligence and the policies governing its usage at the university as it impacts teaching.

“The ways AI might be deployed as it relates to faculty workload is totally in the purview of the union,” said Powell. “It would not have cost the university anything to either acquiesce to what we were proposing or to work with us to craft language that was working for both sides. But they did not offer anything in that realm…. On top of that, they were actually making proposals and rejections that would take us backwards.”

Richard Gilman-Opalsky, a professor in in the School of Politics and International Affairs, said he took part in the March 19 rally to let the campus know what was happening.

“What we’re trying to do here today is let the campus know that this is happening. My students learned that there have been many months of failed contract negotiations from me the week before spring break. The university isn’t educating anybody about it. So I guess that’s now our job, too.”

One area where the faculty sees their current rights being potentially eroded is in terms of office space. “[The administration is] proposing language that would move us away from an individual, secure, private space where we can have a student come in during office hours and close the door and have a conversation with them,” Powell said. “Also, the fact that we are required by law to maintain records that are sensitive under lock and key becomes complicated when the space in which we do that is possibly being shared with others.”

Information provided by UPI’s legal team sheds light on some of the frustrations with lack of progress in the ongoing negotiations. “The University of Illinois system overall stands alone among public Illinois universities as the one that isn’t struggling and could take care of the needs of all of its campuses with existing resources,” said Tyson Roan, an attorney for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, who is a UIS alum. Roan pointed out that the system’s last several audits show an increase in net position of around half a billion dollars a year.

At the same time, the U of I opposes recommendations made by the Illinois Commission on Equitable Public University Funding Commission, which, if implemented, would increase the total pool of money to higher education and divert those new dollars to the institutions that are least adequately funded.

“From what I understand, the U of I stands to lose nothing, so I don’t understand their opposition,” Roan said. According to the commission’s report, UIS is funded at about 72% of what it requires, while UIUC is funded at 90%.

In response, UIS administration provided a written statement: “The University of Illinois Springfield is disappointed that members of UPI Local 4100, including the Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty and Clerical, Service and Technical units, have reported voting to authorize a strike. The vote does not necessarily mean a strike will occur, and from the University’s perspective, a strike is not warranted. The University has presented proposals that represent a fair contract given the University’s fiscal constraints. We respect our union colleagues and remain committed to working together to reach an agreement that serves the best interests of the entire university community while protecting the university’s financial wellness.”

Both unions report no significant progress in their most recent bargaining sessions with the administration since the rally. The strikes have been authorized but have not begun.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Scott Faingold is a former instructor at University of Illinois Springfield, where he helped form the non-tenure track union in 2023. He was the founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast. He can be reached at scottfaingold@gmail.com.