NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) — Three tentative agreements were reached between the United Faculty of Illinois State University and the administration.
Keith Pluymers, associate history professor and bargaining member for the union, said that even though there isn’t a federal mediator in discussions anymore because of an executive order from President Donald Trump, there is a fairly good rapport between the two parties.
“Fortunately, despite the good work the mediator has done so far, we’ve built up a productive relationship, and we were able to successfully reach a tentative agreement on some particular sticky issues, particularly an article that’s going to define what our workload looks like going forward,” Pluymers said.
This means professors would have more manageable credit hours to teach and have courses that are “meant to support, and not inhibit” faculty.
The union has garnered a fair amount of student support, which makes members of the Union feel supported and optimistic about the student body.
“In my experience with ISU students, they are great, and they come to the university not just wanting to learn technical details, but wanting to build a sense of who they are as people,” Pluymers said.United Faculty of Illinois State University sees ‘immediate jump’ in support after intent to strike filed
While some classes and credits are in limbo right now, some students are voicing their support for their professors.
“I feel like everyone deserves as much as they get paid, but they need to be able to support themselves, absolutely,” said Lane Nichols, a senior physics major. “It’s a powerful movement and I think if it’s got to happen, it’s got to happen.”
“On one hand, I want to get my credits for this semester. I don’t want to be here for nothing,” said Quentin Gueffier, a freshman secondary education major. “But at the same time, I feel the teachers deserve fair treatment, and, you know, if they need to do this to get that done, I’m all for it.”
In a statement on the university’s website, a similar yet separate message read similar to what Pluymers said.
“While good progress was made with the mediator’s support, the University believes the parties have developed a productive working relationship that will allow negotiations to continue without the involvement of a mediator as Illinois State and the Union move toward contract resolution,” the statement from the University reads.
An update on the UFISU website reads, “At this stage, we are having intense ‘off the record’ economics discussions. Our team continues to push for guaranteed raises that address inflation.”
In the same release on ISU’s website, it reads, “The University is steadfast in its commitment to reaching a fair agreement without disruption to teaching and learning. However, given the Union’s decision to file a ten-day Notice of Intent to Strike, Illinois State will continue academic contingency planning activities to support our campus community in the unfortunate event of a strike by the Union.”
Two more bargaining sessions were added to this week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday, which will mean four straight days of negotiating starting Tuesday.
