Posted on Jan 4, 2024
Illinois unions look to state for solutions after year of higher education labor action
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At public universities across the state, staff and faculty unions have faced a contentious year of negotiations and, in some cases, strikes.
Pay has been a major issue on several campuses and the unions are now looking to Springfield for potential reforms to the state’s higher education funding.
At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, negotiations are ongoing between campus leadership and the union that represents clerical workers.
Amy Bodenstab, who works as an office manager in the Department of Teaching and Learning, also picks up weekend shifts at a local domestic violence shelter and contract work in data analytics to make ends meet.
She is on the bargaining team of AFSCME Local 2887, which has been without a contract since June 2022. She said the low pay and perceived lack of respect has resulted in high turnover rates, hampering university staff’s ability to do their jobs.
She said it’s especially troubling because of the complexity of the positions her union represents, which can involve financial management, purchasing, scheduling and more.
“If you’re staff, you’re treated as ‘less than,’” Bodenstab told Capitol News Illinois.
Nicole Franklin, a spokesperson for the university, declined to comment specifically on the ongoing negotiations but said the university “continues to bargain in good faith” with the union.
But Bodenstab’s experience is echoed on other campuses around Illinois.
Pay has been a major issue on several campuses and the unions are now looking to Springfield for potential reforms to the state’s higher education funding.
At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, negotiations are ongoing between campus leadership and the union that represents clerical workers.
Amy Bodenstab, who works as an office manager in the Department of Teaching and Learning, also picks up weekend shifts at a local domestic violence shelter and contract work in data analytics to make ends meet.
She is on the bargaining team of AFSCME Local 2887, which has been without a contract since June 2022. She said the low pay and perceived lack of respect has resulted in high turnover rates, hampering university staff’s ability to do their jobs.
She said it’s especially troubling because of the complexity of the positions her union represents, which can involve financial management, purchasing, scheduling and more.
“If you’re staff, you’re treated as ‘less than,’” Bodenstab told Capitol News Illinois.
Nicole Franklin, a spokesperson for the university, declined to comment specifically on the ongoing negotiations but said the university “continues to bargain in good faith” with the union.
But Bodenstab’s experience is echoed on other campuses around Illinois.
Illinois unions look to state for solutions after year of higher education labor action
Posted from stlpr.org
College
Unions
Edwardsville
Teaching
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Any recommendations from the commission, however, would need to be approved by the General Assembly, leaving room for doubt when it comes to fully implementing – and funding – the commission’s recommendations.
“The problem is always the problem: finding the funds to do it,” Montgomery said.
The state revenue landscape could further compound the challenge. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget is projecting an $891 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year 2025, although that number drops to $721 million when accounting for the statutory contribution to the state’s “rainy day” savings fund.
“I think it's a signal that everybody, we need to be careful in Illinois, we have to balance our budget…” Pritzker told Capitol News Illinois when asked about the projection earlier this month. “And so, if that requires us to reduce the increases that may occur in certain programs, maybe that will be necessary.”
..."Any recommendations from the commission, however, would need to be approved by the General Assembly, leaving room for doubt when it comes to fully implementing – and funding – the commission’s recommendations.
“The problem is always the problem: finding the funds to do it,” Montgomery said.
The state revenue landscape could further compound the challenge. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget is projecting an $891 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year 2025, although that number drops to $721 million when accounting for the statutory contribution to the state’s “rainy day” savings fund.
“I think it's a signal that everybody, we need to be careful in Illinois, we have to balance our budget…” Pritzker told Capitol News Illinois when asked about the projection earlier this month. “And so, if that requires us to reduce the increases that may occur in certain programs, maybe that will be necessary.”
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Good share and read. I'm glad I'm not teaching in Illinois any longer with the finances in the state being about broke. A lot of folks are leaving the state in recent years. What I didn't like mostly about teaching in Chicago was having to join the union. If I didn't join I was still endowed to pay 90% of the dues regardless; fair share as they called it. Tennessee is a right to work state. We have a union but I don't belong. I don't need a union to protect my job. I do my job to the best of my ability every day. If they aren't satisfied with me, well, they can tell me and I'll retire.
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