Bloomington-Normal residents joined May Day demonstrators at a rally Friday on the Illinois State University Quad and on a march to Uptown Normal.
Numerous “May Day Strong” protests are occurring across the country to mark International Labor Day, according to NPR. Members of the Illinois Federation of Teachers [IFT] held rallies in solidarity with striking graduate workers at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
In Normal, many pledged support to striking workers of AFSCME Local 1110 at ISU.
Ashley Farmer, president of the United Faculty of ISU, UPI Local 4100, has organized similar protests in Bloomington-Normal before. She said the day is a celebration of workers’ rights “…while also recognizing the struggles ahead for the workers. There’s a lot of our units on campus right now at ISU that are in bargaining, and of course we have a strike going on...”
IFT said the May Day protests held a special meaning as a day to call for the state to defend against attacks on schools and students.
Vicky Johnson, an academic advisor, is a member of the Student Support Professionals chapter under the IFT umbrella.
“I think it’s important for us to stand in solidarity in terms of asking for the recognition that workers in Illinois need,” she said.
“To put workers over billionaires means getting funding for the people who do jobs, especially in the public sector where we are providing a vital public good to the citizens of Illinois.”
Like many at the rally, Johnson carried a sign that read, “People Over Profits.” She said each worker and the students they assist are individuals with individual needs.
“Everybody here today is interested in some way in how education plays a role in the public good, of the people of America. So, this is not really just an Illinois issue. I think that we need as a society to value education, which means funding education,” she said.
Farmer also mentioned funding, saying under funding affects all levels of education. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, about 76.6% of school districts are operating below 90% adequacy.
Farmer said IFT also lobbies to tax billionaires. She and Johnson both said that could easily pay for the funding gap in education.
“When governments refuse to tax their millionaires and billionaires, in effect what they are doing is passing those taxes onto their most vulnerable population,” Johnson said. “In this case, the students and the workers who make these institutions work.”
Johnson said seeing her co-workers and community members at the rally made her proud.
Added Farmer, “It’s time for them to give back to their community and their community is this community. We need to focus on education; it’s a huge part of our lives…we can fund it if we try.”
As for state government, Gov. JB Pritzker said he supports universities getting more funding, but is currently withholding 2% of last year’s increase for higher education. He has instead proposed a 1% increase.
A proposal to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot asking voters for a tax on millionaires failed to get legislative approval before the deadline.
