URBANA – Union employees and civil service workers at the University of Illinois may not have been part of the initial round of furloughs announced Tuesday, but they should expect cuts as well, officials said.

The UI's contracts with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees – which represents almost 2,000 workers at the Urbana-Champaign campus – don't currently have language covering furloughs, but they do provide for layoffs under certain circumstances, union officials said.

And the State Universities Civil Service System has drafted furlough rules that could go into effect as early as mid-February, officials said.

In announcing furloughs of four to 10 days for other UI employees, interim President Stanley Ikenberry said Tuesday that he would seek "comparable cost reductions" for civil service staff "in accord with Civil Service rules and bargaining obligations."

The UI has both union and nonunion civil service workers, though exact numbers were not immediately available Tuesday, UI spokesman Tom Hardy said.

The proposed state civil service furlough provision is in the midst of a 45-day public comment period but could be forwarded to the state's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules after Jan. 18, said Vicki Thomas, the committee's director. The panel could consider the regulations at its February meeting, she said.

The policy would allow voluntary or mandatory furloughs, with a 15-day notice from the university. Furloughed employees would not be allowed to do any state work or even be on call during furlough time. Health care workers and other "essential" employees could be exempted.

The state's Department of Central Management Services adopted similar rules last month, allowing furloughs to proceed for non-university civil service workers, Thomas said. The proposed rules for university civil service workers are similar, except they would be contingent on collective-bargaining agreements with employee unions, she said.

Hardy said the university plans to work "within the terms of those negotiated agreements." He declined to provide specific details or say whether that meant layoffs.

"We don't have furlough language, so they'd have to lay us off," said Jim McGuire, president of AFSCME Local 698, which represents about 400 employees ranging from nurses to library support staff to lab mechanics.

AFSCME Local 3700 President Dorinda Miller said UI officials have been "very up front" about the budget challenges and have discussed the possibility of furloughs, but they have not asked to negotiate the issue yet. Local 3700 represents about 1,500 clerical workers at the Urbana-Champaign campus, all of whom are part of the civil service system, Miller said.

The UI could use the layoff provisions, which are based on seniority, to implement short-term layoffs, she said. Miller said administrators indicated that they might consider implementing layoffs during spring break.

Overall, union officials were pleased that employees earning less than $30,000 a year were exempt from furloughs. Miller said only about a dozen of her union's members – mostly newly unionized child care workers – earn less than that.

"I'm pleased to see that those who are making the larger salaries are being taxed a little more," Miller said.

But she's concerned about the fairness of the furlough policy, which exempts employees whose pay comes entirely from outside grants or contracts, or "soft money." That includes academic as well as support staff, she said.

"Our concern is that the policies are equal across-the-board for our members," she said.

Ikenberry said employees who are paid with a combination of grants and state funding will be expected to take furloughs.

Union officials also raised questions about the need for furloughs and the university's budget priorities.

"I'm still not totally sure that the university is in as dire straits as they let on," Miller said.

McGuire said the university's budget actually grew by $500 million this year, from $4.2 billion to $4.7 billion, though not from state sources.

He noted that the governor hasn't asked for a budget rescission yet.

"I'm not saying there isn't an issue here, but I think they're getting a little ahead of themselves," McGuire said.

Miller wondered what the UI will do if and when the state catches up on its payments. Ikenberry indicated employees could be reimbursed if the UI receives its full appropriation, but he expressed doubt that that will happen.

Peter Campbell, communications officer for the Graduate Employees' Organization, said the furlough policy is an improvement on earlier proposals. But he said furloughs aren't necessarily "the best way to respond to this crisis."

He'd like to see more efforts to shift funding away from administrative units to academic programs.

Proposed furlough policy for State Universities Civil Service System, which would cover civil service workers at the UI:

"A furlough is the placement of an employee in a temporary nonduty, nonpay status for a continuous or noncontinuous period of time due to a lack of funds.

B) An employee on furlough shall not be at work or on standby or on-call and shall not perform any State work during furlough time. A furlough can be either voluntary or mandatory.

A furlough is not considered a layoff or a reduction in force action, and therefore not subject to subsection (d) of this Section.

C) Notwithstanding any other rule in this Part, or the fact that an employee's work hours or pay is reduced by the requirement to take furlough, all furlough time is considered creditable time for all purposes as if the furloughed employee was in pay status. Furloughed employees shall be entitled to the same benefits under this Part, and as established by the Benefits Policy approved by the Merit Board and by the Governing Boards of the institutions/agencies served by the University System, to which the employee was entitled on the paid workday immediately preceding the furlough and those benefits shall continue as if the employee was in pay status.

D) Voluntary or mandatory furlough programs may be inclusive of all employees in the designated institution/agency, division or program regardless of employment status, source of funds or place of work. Employees in positions considered essential to the critical mission, such as those related to health, welfare and safety, may be excluded from participation in furloughs. Employees shall be notified as soon as possible of any mandatory furlough requirements. An employee on paid military leave or other unpaid leave shall not be scheduled for furlough during the leave and may be scheduled for furlough upon return to work if the furlough program remains in effect. Uniform participation and selection criteria should be developed by the employer and consistently applied.

E) Furloughs shall not be used when permanent or temporary layoff or emergency shut-down is appropriate. For example, if an employer does not expect a funding reduction to be restored in the next budget cycle and the employer does not have the ability to reorganize work, a layoff may be an appropriate option. Furloughs shall not be used as a substitute for permanent part-time employment. Furloughs shall not be used as a disciplinary measure.

Implementation of furlough programs for employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement is subject to the collective bargaining process and/or other applicable state/federal labor laws and regulations. The provisions contained in this subsection (b)(5) are not intended to circumvent or supersede other state/federal labor laws and/or regulations applicable in this respect.

G) Required Notification – An employer may institute a voluntary or mandatory furlough program upon notification to the Executive Director at least 15 calendar days prior to the implementation of the program. The employer shall indicate whether the furlough is for the entire institution/agency or a designated division or program, an explanation of the facts related to the temporary nature of the event causing the furlough and the specific funding deficit related to the affected work areas, how the furlough will relieve the budgetary shortfall, the initial effective date of the program, the number of days that employees shall be on furlough and the end date of the furlough program, a definition/listing of essential employees and positions to be excluded from participation, and any collective bargaining implications."