More NIU employees joining AFSCME
A group of more than 600 clerical, paraprofessional, technical and administrative employees of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb are forming a new union with AFSCME.
The NIU employees—including office support staff, library employees, child care workers, IT professionals and others—are organizing a union in order to have a say in the decisions that affect their life at work, to improve the services they provide to students, and to push for pay parity and respect. Many of the employees make $12, $11, or less than $10 an hour, and haven’t had a raise in five years.
“We love our jobs, we work hard, and we deserve fair wages, affordable health care and a secure pension,” said Jennifer Jeffries, an office administrator at the Holmes Student Center. “Staff should be a priority for the administration, and we shouldn’t be paid less than our counterparts who do the same work at other state universities.”
“I wanted to organize because I love helping people, and so many of my co-workers are not paid a living wage despite the amount of work they do and the high level of responsibility that’s expected of them,” said Angie Dybas, an office administrator in the College of English. “Morale is low and people leave because we’re not paid a living wage.”
“We’re excited about the overwhelming support for organizing our union among our fellow employees,” said Laura Harris, an office manager in the College of Education. “We’re dedicated, hardworking employees, and with our union, we’ll have a seat at the table when decisions are being made. We’re looking forward to sitting down with the university administration to negotiate a first union contract.”
The employees filed a petition July 22 with the state labor board, which in turn will certify the new union.
More than 450 other NIU employees who provide health care, prepare and serve food, and clean and maintain buildings are already represented by AFSCME. The union has some 100,000 members who work in public universities nationwide, including 5,000 in Illinois.