Amid nearly a year of ongoing contract negotiations with Illinois State University, the union representing tenure and tenure-track faculty filed a charge against ISU on Thursday with the state Educational Labor Relations Board [IELRB], alleging ISU has violated the Illinois Labor Disputes Act.
The charge comes after a demonstration United Faculty of ISU [UFISU] members held nearly a month ago, ahead of the first day of contract negotiations held in the presence of a federal mediator.
Faculty members formed two lines outside of the mediation room, held signs and chanted while university administrators walked by to get to the room. UFISU member and associate professor Keith Pluymers said the university later told the union they'd violated a noise policy.
"We received an email from a member of the university administration claiming that we had been put on warning status and would face difficulties reserving space in the future if we violated university policy... again," Pluymers said in an interview, adding it wasn't the first time this kind of thing had happened. In the fall, a union member brought a drum to an outdoor protest and was asked by a university staff member to stop hitting the drum.
"We believe these actions amount to multiple attempts — but an attempt in this [January] case, specifically, to intimidate our members and prevent them from engaging in legally protected, concerted action, which is a right enshrined in labor law at the state level and enshrined in law at the federal level," Pluymers said. "It's really disappointing that this university seems to think that its noise policy is in some way more important than a crucial worker's right enshrined in the law."
A spokesperson for the university said ISU was "aware" of the filing and "denies the allegations contained in the charge and looks forward to defending its position before the IELRB."
Pluymers said the two instances appeared to UFISU as "part of a pattern from this employer."
"What we see from this employer is a pattern to try to hide labor disputes off to the side, to minimize any possibility of disruption — including in the ways that we're alleging here that violate state law," he said. "It's not a coincidence that our brothers and sisters and siblings in AFSCME were, at the 11th hour, on the edge of going on strike recently. This is a pattern in how this university has chosen to behave as an employer."
Tension between the two groups has been growing as negotiations inch closer to a one-year mark.
The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board recognized the union last January and negotiations began on Feb. 28, 2024. At the behest of UFISU, a federal mediator joined the process last month. Pluymers said members had been hopeful the third-party presence would help speed up the process.
But in recent weeks, some faculty members have posted signage or otherwise indicated that they would support taking more drastic action — like going on strike.
"We all hope it doesn't get there. We really, really hope it doesn't get there. But it's really hard when you're dealing with an administration that is going to attempt to coerce our members away from engaging in their legally protected activities — the right to engage in concerted job action," Pluymers said. "That is building up frustration. I would say those signs are an indication that for a lot of members, they've been having really hard thoughts... and things that might have seemed unthinkable last year are now starting to become thinkable."
Tentative agreements have been reached on nearly 30 items so far, according to an ISU website providing negotiation updates.
Pluymers said the dispute over university noise policy comes at a time when collaboration between university administration and faculty and staff is especially critical: Many colleges and universities are grappling with the implications of a flurry of executive orders from President Trump that seek to quash federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs and cancel the visas of foreign students who are found to be "Hamas sympathizers."
"This is a moment of uncertainty, but we have the right under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act to bargain the impact of things like that — to ensure that changes beyond our control and beyond the institution's control can be dealt with in a fair and equitable manner," he said. "We want to engage in that kind of productive and respectful relationship, so it's frustrating to see actions that make it hard for us to see how we're going to build up to that respect."
