Illinois State University's faculty union said Thursday it's filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the university and its Board of Trustees after its members were allegedly asked to do the work of striking workers from another union.
When the strike began, United Faculty of Illinois State University [UFISU] was reminded their contracts do not permit any members to join in a labor stoppage. Keith Pluymers, associate professor and UFISU's vice president, said the union has complied with that request.
“And we also made it very clear to them that we absolutely would not, under any circumstances, be performing AFSCME bargaining unit work,” said Pluymers. “We do not have to do their work, and we absolutely will not serve as strike breakers.”
But UFISU bargaining unit members in the Department of Chemistry allege they were directed to conduct lab cleaning work, which is normally the job of AFSCME workers.
“When we found out about that, we immediately filed the unfair labor practice [ULP] charge, because we had already made it very clear to the university, we will not serve as strike breakers under any circumstances,” said Pluymers.
PDF: Read the complaint
The complaint has been filed with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board [IELRB] for review.
“We know the university has been hiring strike breakers to come in and attempt to do the work that AFSCME 1110 does,” said UFISU president Ashley Farmer, an associate professor. “And so the university administration has been continuing to claim that they can run things as usual, even though that is very obviously not the case.”
Farmer added that ISU administrators were told over email that guests for an admissions event called Redbird Day could not receive meals at dining halls as they typically are able to. She said this is because the dining hall needs to prioritize the students that get meals there.
“We can clearly see the effects of them not being at work on our campus. We see the trash piling up. We see the dining halls empty out. We see the messaging from the university that they can't give their guests that are here for Redbird Day any meals,” said Farmer. “And if AFSCME 1110 workers were back at work, none of those things would be happening.”
The two sides met Wednesday for the fifth time with a federal mediator, though no deal was reached. ISU officials say its offer provides "pay that is competitive with the pay for comparable roles in the local marketplace." That offer does not include retroactive pay for labor completed after the previous contract ended last summer, nor any guarantees that union members would receive at least the same wage increases as other university employees when those occur. AFSCME leaders have said they do not intend to sign any contracts without those provisions.
ISU spokesperson Chris Coplan issued a statement on Thursday afternoon indicating that the university is aware of the charge.
"The University denies the allegations contained in the charge and looks forward to defending its position before the IELRB," the statement read.
Union march
Meanwhile, striking workers and their supporters marched Thursday along North Street, from Uptown Normal to Hovey Hall [the main ISU administration building] to continue to rally support. Demonstrators characterized ISU administration’s actions as “union-busting” tactics.
“If they're breaking laws — not policy and procedure, but laws — I imagine we're going to hear pretty quick,” said Chuck Carver, Local 1110 president.
The current strike is the longest single-unit strike in Illinois State University history. Other notable strikes include an 11-day coal strike in 1950 that forced all state schools to close, and a one-week AFSCME Local 1110 strike in 1969.
The latter was forced to end despite the lack of a negotiated agreement when a federal judge put a temporary restraining order on the strike, citing a “food, health and sanitation” emergency. A new contract was ratified about a month later.
Carver said the non-union temporary workers on campus are having adverse effects on how the university functions.
“They're being overworked. They can't keep up with this,” said Carver. “And what students [the university is] trying to get to do this, are coming out in tears because they're trying to overwork them to do that.”
