Illinois State University [ISU] is on the brink of a faculty strike. But it’s not the only labor strife on campus.
Educators in ISU’s K-12 lab schools [Metcalf and University High] are trying to get recognition for their first union, called the Lab School Education Association [LSEA]. They petitioned for that recognition last summer and recently won a favorable decision from an administrative law judge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. A full board decision is expected soon, after which the new union could begin negotiating its first contract with ISU.
That work has been overshadowed by increasing tensions between ISU and the United Faculty of ISU union, which represents around 650 tenured and tenure-track faculty. By contrast, the proposed LSEA would represent around 150 employees in the lab schools. Around 1,000 students attend the two lab schools.
“It’s frustrating to watch,” said Kate Pole, a social studies teacher at U-High who helped to organize. “I don’t think anybody wants to do any of these things. I think people just want fair, equitable working conditions, and to be treated like professionals.”
ISU has fought against the LSEA’s push for recognition. Pole said she’s “very hopeful” after that March 12 favorable decision by an administrative law judge that the union will be recognized.
But she’s also aware that reaching a contract may also require a long fight.
“I’m nervous, as I look at what appears to be ISU pushing really hard against a much larger faculty,” Pole said. “And I wonder, considering how we’ve been delayed a year in terms of recognition, what does that mean for us and our future when we start bargaining?”
WGLT asked, do you think that’s an omen of what’s to come?
“It’s hard not to be a little disillusioned and a little concerned about exactly that,” she said.
ISU administration has challenged LSEA’s push for recognition on two fronts — both claiming its mix of employees is not appropriate.
First, ISU claims some of the lab school employees are technically employed by the university and another employer — the Heart of Illinois Low Incidence Association, or HILIA. That’s a joint program that serves students with hearing and vision disabilities. ISU pays the salaries of HILIA teachers and staff (and is reimbursed by the Regional Office of Education #17), though HILIA has its own five-person governing board. ISU says that governing board has a “significant role in providing the authority in the first place to create and fill vacancies.”
Second, ISU argues the proposed union improperly combines four categories of employees: Administrative Professionals, Faculty Associates, Civil Service, and Civil Service Extra Help.
The administrative law judge ultimately sided with the union, prompting a rebuttal from ISU. The decision now lies with the full Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.
"I would be surprised if we don't have a decision prior to the end of the school year," said Ben Matthews, a staffer with the Illinois Education Association who's been supporting the lab school organizing effort.
Pole said one of the reasons she wants a union is because it “feels antagonistic right now.”
“And I don’t like that. I don’t know that any of my colleagues do. I think we’d like to have a better relationship with ISU, but because of working conditions and pay issues and even things like, well, we think your HILIA colleagues aren’t the same as you — even though we couldn’t do our jobs without them on a daily basis — that feels antagonistic,” Pole said.
A recognized union, with a contract, would be a sign of respect, she said.
“I’m very hopeful and very excited that once we’re an official union, those protections will fall into place. And although I don’t expect it be easy creating this contract, I hope in the long run we can come to understand each other better,” Pole said.
