UIUC employees call for respect and fair pay

Clerical and technical employees of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign delivered hundreds of postcards to University President Timothy Killeen on July 21.

The cards called on President Killeen to be fair and settle a new union contract, putting an end to negotiations that have dragged on for more than a year. The existing agreements were scheduled to expire last August 31.

Workers rallied on the Quad before marching on Killeen's office with cards individually signed by hundreds of university employees. Employees said that Killeen should focus on the issues that are important to them, such as fair wage increases to raise the pay of those that make the least at the University.

AFSCME represents some 1,800 UIUC employees in Local 3700 and 698, including frontline office support in every department, payroll management, coordination of storerooms, upkeep of university farms and library support. Among the lowest paid are education staff in the Extension program and Child Development Lab, who make as little as $10 an hour even though some hold multiple degrees.

"These folks are at the bottom of the pay scale. We believe that their work is important and that the university should honor that," Council 31 staff representative David Beck told the Champaign News-Gazette.

The UIUC student newspaper The Daily Illini quoted Becky Burner of AFSCME Local 698, who explained that "the main goal of the postcards was to obtain a fair contract and to gain respect from the University. 'The way that they talk to us in negotiations is very demeaning—it’s bullying and very unfair,' Burner said."

In addition to fair wages that reward experience, employees are also seeking protection from increased parking rates, improved opportunities for continuing education, and insuring safety in hazardous work environments.