Members of the Governors State University chapter of University Professionals of Illinois union, also referred to as Local 1400, rallied at GSU on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 8, to gather support and show solidarity before the union meets with GSU for the next contract proposal.
The Local 1400 union will be asking for a 10% increase in pay for this year at the next meeting with GSU, according to Chris Tweddle, Local 4100 spokesperson and associate professor of mathematics at GSU.
About 50 union members were at the rally, Tweddle said. He said these union members mostly included faculty and staff at GSU. The rally was a “statewide action” on that day. UPI union members at other universities held rallies at their own campuses, Tweddle said.
Tweddle said the rally was to “energize our members about the ongoing negotiations.”
“Before we get into things that might be contentious, we want to be able to rally support and shows of solidarity. We’re laying the groundwork now,” Tweddle said.
The union meets with GSU on every other Friday afternoon and the next meeting is on Sept. 30, Tweddle said. This is the mutually agreed upon time and it gives both parties enough time to figure out what’s being negotiated, he said.
“We will be asking for pay raises as a part of this negotiation. The union’s opening offer is going to be 10% this year to catch up with the unprecedented inflation – and then 7% for the remaining three years of the contract,” Tweddle said. “We have not formally made that proposal but that is our intent.”
Tweddle said this “opening offer” of a 10% pay increase will be “retroactive to the beginning of this contract year” which he said started in August.
“Raises have been a little bit low the last contract cycle. I want to say, like, 2.7% – which doesn’t quite keep up with cost-of-living adjustment,” Tweddle said. “With the pandemic and the inflation as it stands right now, we’re really starting to feel the pressure financially. So, we’re really looking to try to catch up.”
“The faculty and professional staff here understand the institutional, economic, and state budget challenges the university has faced over the last 10 years,” said Michael Hart, chapter president and a senior lecturer at GSU. “We have sacrificed raises in the past to continue serving our students and keep the doors open. The time has come for the university to recognize that sacrifice.”
“GSU is in ongoing and productive negotiations with the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100,” said Zion Banks, media and external relations manager at Governors State University. “GSU is committed to bargaining at the table in good faith to reach a fair collective bargaining agreement with UPI.”