Striking Illinois State University staff frustrated over lack of negotiations

SPRINGFIELD — Non-teaching staff at Illinois State University have been on strike for four weeks and are growing frustrated at the lack of negotiations between the union and administrators.

The maintenance, building and grounds service workers who are represented by AFSCME Council 31 have been on strike since April 8, demanding higher pay. As a result, students at the campus in Normal have dealt with dirty bathrooms, garbage pilling up and limited dining options.

A group of striking workers traveled to the Capitol in Springfield Tuesday to call attention to their strike, which has become an issue in the governor’s race.

“Without us, I know they’re not getting the quality of cleaning they deserve,” building service worker Sue Perry told reporters at a news conference in Springfield.

Little progress has been made in negotiations since January, according to Renee Nestler, AFSCME’s staff representative. That’s when the university put forward its latest offer, which it also says is its final offer.

ISU has offered staff members a plan that would grant a 3.5% raise when the new contract is ratified, bringing hourly wages to $21.34 on average for dining hall employees and $22.78 for building services employees — the two largest groups of workers in the union. Workers would be slated for a 3% annual raise every July 1 through 2029.

But the union says the lack of retroactive pay, since workers did not receive a raise last July, is a major problem. They are seeking a 3.5% wage increase retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year last summer, along with certainty that staff members will be a part of the campus wage program. The program would allow staff members to receive a greater wage increase when their management receives an increase above the yearly standard.

Union leaders said negotiations over the last four months have been unproductive and no future bargaining sessions are scheduled.

“We know the community values us because every day brings an outpouring of support,” said union president Chuck Carver, a building service worker. “The ones who don’t value us are high up in the administration. They are ignoring our well-being, of the students, and damaging ISU’s reputation.”

Lawsuit

The strike also escalated into a lawsuit against the university. The union alleges the university has hired new, non-unionized workers to replace the striking workers while they’re off the job.

“We are fighting for fair pay and dignity, and while they’re saying they can’t afford it, they’re paying these scab companies more than what we make,” Carver said, claiming the contracted vendors are making $38 to $197 an hour, compared to ISU’s $16 floor for many workers.

ISU has asked a court to dismiss the case.

“These external companies are not strikebreakers – they are well-established, local businesses that perform custodial and grounds work in and around our local community every day,” ISU said in a statement. “Furthermore, the use of these external companies is not illegal, and we plan to vigorously defend our position in this meritless lawsuit. The university follows a state procurement process that ensures it is compliant with the law.”

State law prohibits hiring new workers to replace the ones on strike.

Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters in Springfield on Tuesday that both parties need to return to the bargaining table “ASAP.”

“I don’t believe in strikebreakers,” Pritzker said. “I know that that’s being litigated right now – this question. You know, this should not occur …  We shouldn’t have people taking other people’s jobs.”

Campaign issue

Republican nominee Darren Bailey joined ISU workers on the picket line on Friday, who called on Pritzker to get more involved in resolving the strike.

“You can’t claim to stand with workers and then disappear when it actually matters,” Bailey said. “You can’t talk about supporting labor and then allow situations like this to drag on while families struggle to get by.”

Bailey is trying to flip the narrative that Illinois Republicans are anti-union and attract a broader array of voters.

“This isn’t about being pro-union or anti-union,” Bailey said. “This is about being pro-worker and pro-family. Workers need to be supported, they need to be respected, and they need to be paid in a way that allows them to actually live and not just survive.”

Pritzker didn’t let Bailey off the hook from past statements and positions Democrats believe are anti-union, such as opposing the Workers Rights Amendment and voting against raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

“I will add that Darren Bailey, who likes to say that somehow he’s standing with the workers, has never stood with workers in this state,” Pritzker said.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.