Full-time non-tenure track faculty at the University of Illinois Springfield appear to have avoided a strike.
The UPI Local 4100 Non-Tenure Track Faculty Union, formed just over a year ago, reached a tentative deal with the school, Details have yet to be released, although job security, compensation and workload had been considered key issues. The agreement came after a 10 hour bargaining session Tuesday and all-day session Wednesday.
“Our union negotiating team is glad to announce that we were able to reach a tentative contract agreement with Chancellor Gooch and her team,” said Scott Fenton, UIS English instructor and a member of the union negotiating team. “It has been a long and challenging road to secure this first agreement, but we are pleased that they worked with us in the end so we can stay in the classroom with our students. That is where we want to be."
“Though it does not go far enough in some important areas, this tentative agreement includes basic improvements in workload and salary that better align our faculty’s working conditions with those of our colleagues on other U of I campuses. We see it is a stepping stone to critical future improvements for our members and the students we are so proud to teach. We are grateful to them both for their incredible support throughout the process,” Fenton added.
The union had authorized a strike that could have started as early as this week. At the time an intent to strike notice was filed, UIS said the two sides were negotiating on 20 issues and had agreement on only 11.
"I am grateful to all parties who worked on this inaugural contract for our valued non-tenure track faculty members. We look forward to continuing to work together to fulfill our university’s mission," added UIS Chancellor Janet Gooch.
"It is truly disappointing though that, once again, U of I leaders took an unnecessarily contentious approach to bargaining that sowed seeds of distrust between the union and administration," added John Miller, president of the University Professionals of Illinois. "We hope future bargaining will prove more respectful and amicable, which would be in the best interests of all parties, including students."
The 43 union members are expected to vote on the tentative three-year agreement by the end of the month. The union and the school said details will be released after that time.
UIS has two other union contracts expiring this summer that cover faculty union and campus service employees.
