There is still a lot to be agreed upon – especially regarding pay -- but both the Western Illinois University administration and the union representing faculty members said that they are making progress in contract talks.
“I appreciate the positive attitude from both teams that we’ve had during these negotiations. I think it’s been a lot less stressful than some previous negotiations in past years,” said Russ Morgan, Senior Associate Provost for Budget, Personnel, and Research. He is the administration’s chief negotiator.
“The negotiations this time around have been very positive. There’s been really good communication between the two groups. I think both sides are really working toward an agreement.”
He said they have been meeting regularly since October.
Morgan said they started out by working on non-economic proposals, which proved to be a good strategy.
“I think we have about eight, nine pages of tentative agreements completed already at this point,” Morgan said.
Patrick McGinty, President of the WIU chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 and chief negotiator for the union, agreed that the talks have been productive.
“The conversations are moving forward, and there’s no reason to think that there wouldn’t be ongoing conversations over the course of the summer,” he said.
McGinty said both the faculty and the administration are concerned about improving student retention and enhancing the student experience.
While both men agree that they have made progress, the two sides remain far apart on money.
The union asked for a three-year contract with pay raises of eight-percent, six-percent, and six-percent.
The administration proposed a six-year contract with a half-percent raise in year one, a one-percent raise in year two, and salary reopeners for the final four years.
“The administration has been over the course of the last couple of months very transparent about the money situation. We realize the two sides are at this time very far apart,” McGinty said.
“Nonetheless we do expect to be seeing sometime in the future some kind of movement from the administration.”
The next bargaining session is scheduled for Monday afternoon, May 8.
The current contract expires on June 30.
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