Union at WIU accepts compromise tentative agreement

 After 10 months of negotiations, the union representing faculty and academic support professionals at Western Illinois University accepted a tentative agreement with the university.

The previous contract between WIU and the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 (UPI), an affiliate of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, expired in June.

When bargaining started, the union asked for a three-year contract with pay raises of 8%, 6% and 6%, but the administration countered with a proposed six-year agreement with a 1/2% raise followed by a 1% increase and pay re-openers thereafter.

“WIU UPI and Western Illinois University found real compromise between the university's initial offer of 1.5% across six years with re-openers and the UPI's initial position of 20% increases across three years,” said sociology professor Patrick McGinty, president of WIU’s chapter of UPI, commenting to the Labor Paper. “As part of the financial agreement, significant gains were made for our lowest earning members as well as to overload pay.

“A substantial number of workload protections are also part of the agreement,” he continued.

The union, representing 435 workers at Western, also accepted a provision to collaborate in developing a summer bridge program to help prepare students for college and improve student retention.

“The real winners with this contract will be the students of WIU who will benefit from negotiated improvements in online learning and a greater emphasis on faculty engagement in student mentoring and research supervision,” McGinty added. “One of the hallmarks of this agreement is a joint commitment to developing a sustainable summer bridge program for first time college students.”

Western has faced difficulties balancing an enrollment with students coming from low-income households and challenged by adequate preparation at a time of dwindling state resources.

State spending on higher education in Illinois was cut nearly in half – some $1.8 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars – between 2000 and 2023, according to a report from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability advocacy group. The cuts came despite recent increases in the real dollar amount invested in the state’s universities.

“This significant cutback in state funding has really created some fiscal stress, particularly for those public universities that serve more traditionally underrepresented student populations, like low-income kids, rural kids, minority kids,” said CTBA Executive Director Ralph Martire.

“Governors State or Chicago State or Western Illinois take a significantly greater portion of low-income students in their general enrollment population,” Martire said. “They can’t just pass tuition costs on to these kids.”

Of Illinois’ 12 public universities, only the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago have seen student bodies increase in the past decade, according to federal data.

Such financial factors were behind strikes at Chicago State University (for 10 days), Eastern Illinois University (for 6 days), and Governors State University (for 5 days) this spring.

“When three of our chapters were forced to strike earlier this year for a fair agreement and a better learning environment for their students, we were worried our members at WIU would suffer the same fate,” said John Miller, UPI’s state president. “But the progress made at Eastern, Chicago State, and Governors State set a new standard. I’m so proud of the work our members are doing at WIU for their students and their profession.”

Specific pay increases, contract length and other details won’t be disclosed until members review the proposal and hold a ratification vote, which hasn’t been scheduled at press time.