ISU Faculty brings the fight for fair wages on to the quad

Image courtesy of United Faculty of Illinois State University’s official Instagram page

NORMAL, Ill. – Faculty members and students of Illinois State University rallied in the Quad starting around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, to advocate for fair pay,  job security and student mental health resources.

Associate Professor Keith Pluymers holds a position on the bargaining team for the United Faculty of Illinois State University (UFISU), the union of tenure and tenure track faculty at Illinois State University. Pluymers provided some insight into what specifically UFISU is looking to achieve by rallying.

“We want faculty to be paid for all of the work that we do, something that does not currently happen,” Pluymers said. “We want faculty to be paid a fair wage… We want to feel like we are secure in our jobs and don’t constantly have to be looking elsewhere. Lastly, in the vision we laid out, we have a vision of a stronger community for everyone here…we are here to increase student access to mental health resources.”

Pluymers emphasized that UFISU is working towards a fairer, stronger and more equitable campus. UFISU has presented their demands to ISU administration, but according to Pluymers their demands have not been met.

“On Feb 28, 2024, we came to the ISU administration on the first day of bargaining with a complete and comprehensive proposal that covered every part of the contract from top to bottom,” Pluymers said. “In the 12 months since then, we have made some progress, but we have not made progress on really significant issues.”

Lily Taylor is a freshman special education major, and was one of the many students that was walking by the rally and decided to join in.

“I want to rally with faculty because I think it’s very important that teachers here are earning a livable wage… they aren’t paying their teachers what they deserve. It’s not easy to become a professor,” said Taylor.

Pluymers offered his perspective on why he believes the union’s actions are important.

“It’s important to us because we understand that with our collective power, we really can reshape this institution for the better,” Pluymers said. “Reshaping for the institution better doesn’t mean just trying to get things for us, we’re here because of our students.”

When asked if Pluymers thinks the university administration acknowledged their demands and recognized their efforts, he said, “We’ll see tomorrow”.