UFISU Union Representative explains what the faculty is fighting for amid potential strike

Image courtesy of the UFISU official Instagram page

NORMAL, Ill. – Conversation about a possible strike on Illinois State University’s campus has swept through university classrooms for the past few weeks after members of the United Faculty of ISU (UFISU) voted to support a strike if President Tarhule and the ISU administration refuse to reach a fair agreement of contract terms on March 21.

Bargaining for the contract between UFISU and the university’s administration has been ongoing since Feb. 28, 2024.

“[This contract will] set the standard for our wages, our hours, and the terms and conditions of our work,” said Union Representative Keith Pluymers.

This decision did not come lightly to the members of UFISU. Pluymers explained that members have gone to multiple people of the administration trying to reach an agreement.

“Members have gone to the Board of Trustees to voice concerns that faculty are facing,” Pluymers said. “We have been clear in our communication and have tried to give opportunities for the university’s administration to choose the path of peaceful, productive and respectful labor management relations.”

The administration has not reached an agreement with the union, which has led to the strike being authorized. Following the authorization of the strike, they have entered a mandatory 10-day cooling period which is being utilized for further bargaining to avoid the strike needing to take place.

“We don’t want to go out on strike, we want to get to a fair agreement and we hope the university’s administration shares that desire to get to a fair contract and to reach fair agreements,” Pluymers said, “We are ready to bargain as much as possible with the goal of reaching a fair agreement without having anything as highly disruptive as a strike to occur.”

UFISU came to the administration with a total proposal for every article of the contract on day one, Feb. 28, 2024.

“There were a number of articles that it took the university almost 10 months to respond to,” Pluymers said. “There are still articles on which the university has not offered any response, other than the word ‘no.’”

An article of which the members are still awaiting a response is the proposal to increase access to mental health resources for ISU students.

 “If a strike happened that would mean all members of our bargaining unit, which is roughly 650 tenured and tenure-track faculty across every department and school at this university, would stop all work,” Pluymers said. “That means that we would not be teaching our classes, we would not be posting any new materials to Canvas, we would not be updating or grading assignments and putting them up on Canvas. We would not be using our university emails. It means a complete and total stoppage of all work for the university until the contract is fairly resolved,”

Pluymers added that he loves working with his students and finds the support very heartwarming from students thus far.

“To feel the respect, concern, and support that you all have for us is so incredibly meaningful,” Pluymers said.

“In the event that a strike occurs, I would urge students to come join us out on the picket line,” Pluymers said. “Right now, we’re hoping it won’t come to that, so students can go to our social media pages and utilize the links to tell the university to get a deal done. That would be incredibly helpful and we would be incredibly grateful.” said Pluymers.

The 10-day cooling period will end on April 4. This is the earliest date a strike can begin.