Illinois State University and its faculty union reached a tentative agreement Friday, averting a strike that could have begun at any moment. Terms of the deal were not released.
The tentative agreement comes after nearly 50 negotiating sessions between ISU administrators and the United Faculty of ISU union. The union represents 650 tenured and tenure-track faculty and was negotiating its first contract after getting recognition.
ISU and the union issued a joint statement Friday night announcing the deal. Joint statements are not always made after contentious negotiations. A union official told WGLT it was a “symbolic step” that the two sides are ready to move forward in a positive and productive way.
“Over the past year, the University and the Union worked collaboratively to find common ground and reach agreement on a first contract that ensures Illinois State’s tenure-track faculty are compensated in a manner that is competitive with our peer institutions,” the joint statement said. “The University and the Union appreciate the collaboration and commitment of the negotiating teams to reach an agreement that serves the University and our students. We look forward to continuing to work together to achieve our shared goals.”
Details of the agreement will be released only after the union’s membership ratifies it, which is expected to take place by April 18. On the ISU side, the agreement does not need to go before the Board of Trustees, an ISU spokesperson said. Because it's an academic contract, it can be signed by top administrators, including the provost and president, following ratification by the union.
“This agreement is going to be transformative for the way that our members take on their jobs,” Keith Pluymers, an associate professor in history at ISU and a member of the union’s bargaining team, said on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “We have clarified and solidified a lot of the conditions of work that we have. In places where there was uncertainty, this contract is gonna provide certainty. We’ve worked to address a number of really longstanding issues at ISU. And we think this contract — it’s not gonna take care of everything, but we think this is a great start that’s gonna do a lot to ensure ISU is a great place to work moving forward.”
The final round of negotiations took place Friday at a little-known administrative building off Raab Road in north Normal. Union members formed a “gauntlet” of supporters as their bargaining team members entered the building Friday morning. By then, both sides were down to the final few issues, like compensation and student mental health supports.
“These issues can be really tough as you’re getting down the wire on these things. The key to us was seeing a lot of our members show up to support [us] this morning,” Pluymers said.
Pay [specifically merit pay] was one of the final sticking points. As recently as Thursday, ISU said it wanted to allocate around 40% of annual base salary increases to merit-based raises, leaving the remaining 60% for across-the-board raises.
But ISU said the union was “philosophically” opposed to this approach, preferring to allocate more money “for increases wholly unrelated to performance.” The union said an overemphasis on merit pay “turns a large portion of our possible salary increases into a cutthroat competition with each other.”
Prior to Friday, the two sides had reached tentative agreement on many other issues, such as workload, assignment of work, and academic freedom.
Yet, the union was ready to strike. It filed an intent to strike that triggered a 10-day cooling off period that ended Friday. That meant the union could legally go on strike as of Friday, although it repeatedly said that was a last resort. ISU was making “contingency plans” to minimize disruption for students, such as canceled classes, although other unions on campus said they wouldn’t help cover for faculty who were off the job.
This is one of several contentious labor issues at ISU in recent years, amid a resurgence in organizing nationwide. A union representing building, grounds, and food service workers were five days away from a strike in 2022. A group of educators at ISU’s two lab schools is currently working to win recognition — something ISU is contesting in front of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.
