Unions representing college and university employees worry about fall reopening

Posted on July 24, 2020
John Miller, president of the University Professionals of Illinois. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Some university faculty and staff around the state want to pump the brakes on what they perceive as hurrying back to campus needlessly.

Yes, the college experience includes being away from home, but it shouldn’t include being exposed to coronavirus.

“The latest science should dictate and guide the reopening of our colleges and universities to protect the safety of our students, faculty, employees, their families, and communities,” said John Miller, president of the University Professionals of Illinois. “With so much still unknown about COVID-19, this is not the time to rush the reopening of our institutions.”

“We have an opportunity here to err on the side of safety, and I think that’s the approach we should take,” said Booker Crombie, a building services employee at University of Illinois Springfield. As a man in his sixties, he says he does not want to be around a lot of people.

A coalition of unions says universities are not doing all they can to keep everyone safe and are just motivated by money.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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