Updated: About 800 UI workers on strike
Update at 8:49 a.m. Monday
URBANA — Members of the SEIU Local 73 at the University of Illinois are on strike Monday after they rejected the school’s latest contract offer on Sunday afternoon.
Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents close to 800 building and food service workers on the Urbana campus, has been negotiating with the university since last summer, and the two sides brought in a federal mediator in December.
The workers clean classrooms, labs and dorm rooms; take out the trash; clean bathrooms; prepare food in university dining halls; cater special events; and deliver campus mail, among other tasks, said union spokesman Ricky Baldwin.
“It means there’s a lot of stuff that’s not going to get done” on Monday, he said.
In the meantime, university spokeswoman Robin Kaler said other employees will need to cover some of those tasks, like serving food in student dining halls.
“We have prioritized all the essential services, and we’ll just be moving people around to maintain those,” Kaler said.
Wages have been one focal point during negotiations, Baldwin said.
“Wages are always an issue,” he said. “The university is pretending that they don’t have money. But at the same time, the operating budget continues to go up every year, top administrators are getting raises.”
Baldwin also claims that the university has contracted out too much work that should go to union employees. He said other concerns — even if they are not specifically addressed at the negotiating table — focus on how members feel they are being treated at work.
“Members feel that they’re getting disrespect in the workplace,” Baldwin said. “They get tired of it.”
Kaler disputed those claims on Sunday and said university officials have offered what the school can afford.
“We think we’ve offered a fair contract that’s within the means of the university,” Kaler said.
Baldwin said the union plans to strike for three days and “we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Kaler said university officials are prepared to continue negotiating with the union.
“We’ll go however long we need to go,” Kaler said.
SEIU Local 73 Vice President Aaron Ammons said union members will be able to get along without wages during the strike.
The union “will be compensating the members who come out and spend a certain amount of time on the picket line,” Ammons said. “The other part of it is the willingness of the union members to make that sacrifice.”
The Campus Faculty Association has been holding a food drive and fundraiser for SEIU’s members this week, and they will continue to do that, Ammons said.
He said the union has spent a lot of time recently preparing students for the coming strike so they know what to expect when SEIU members do not show up to work.
“We have done extensive work and education campaigns and visibility campaigns on campus to alert the students to what’s looming,” Ammons said.
Is her salary in line with what her education level is and what she can get elsewhere?
Is your salary in line with your education level and what you can get elsewhere?
This is not a like comparison, so makes no sense to me. Tell me what a union food service worker makes elsewhere and show me that the U of I is not paying what they should compared to what you would be getting elsewhere.
I do not disagree that perhaps the U of I is bloated at the Administration level, or that maybe the food service workers and others that support the U of I are under valued, but do not compare a job that takes years of schooling to someone who can have a high school education.
$100,000 a year is plenty for an administrator, regardless of education. If the students can vote in all of the new fees that they did last week, then they can afford to pay more to cover the wages of the people who serve them. No matter their education level, someone working 40 hours a week deserves to make at least enough to live on. If they think that is unreasonable, then let the administrators cook the meals and clean the classrooms. They will get a taste of what real work is like.
7000 out of 45000 voted, not a good turn out. Of course their fault for not voting. I would not say they have plenty of money, that is a pretty big generalization.
Do the union workers work 12 months out of the year? Do they get benefits such as health insurance? Can they go out in the community and do the same job for more?
I don't know, am asking.
Some administrators may get overpaid, not all. I know some who get paid less than 100K and they have masters. I also know that there is a ton of wasted money at the U of I. I know a young lady who just got hired and they do not have anything for her to do so she reads. It is a waste of money, but it is also a waste of her talents because she is quite bright and could do a lot. She is there in case a long time office worker gets sick.
Food Service Sanitation Laborer
https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/specs/detail.aspx?ID=1361&osm=c19
Food Service Cashier
https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/specs/detail.aspx?ID=1575&osm=c19
Kitchen Helper
https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/specs/detail.aspx?ID=2586&osm=c19
Cook
https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/specs/detail.aspx?ID=2566&osm=c19
Building Service Worker
https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/specs/detail.aspx?ID=2703&osm=c19
Similar job at the Champaign Library:
There really isn't any need to speculate on true salaries. They are available. From my query in a readily available database, it appears that a typical building service worker made $34,174.40 last year. We now know, that this was earned by working slightly less than 40 hours per week. In addition, I believe that these workers are entitled to the same generous pension system as all university employees. They also can send their children to any state university for half price.
Truth be told, I have a degree from this institution and I make less when figuring in the Net Present Value of the pension.
On one hand, I sympathize -- they don't make much to begin with and have probably been pushed to keep doing more with less. On the other, I'm not sure that threatening to fine members for crossing the picket line is an endearing move.
https://www.facebook.com/SEIUChapter119/posts/548279988539822
Just to revisit previous points I have made on the economy... Public Unions did not bankrupt the economy. Our pay has barely changed over the last 6 years. Wall Street investments banks trading in unregulated derivatives/credit default swaps drained 10 TRILLION++ dollars worth of equity from the American economy including Illinois compounding an already corrupt state government apparatus. Do you people who not only get your talking points from Foxsnooze also get your actual thoughts from them too? If you want to educate yourself on how that happened here is a link to a Frontline fact checked documentary called The Warning on how you were actually ripped off and how the grifter in chief Alan Greenspan could have prevented it and didn't.
As far as the University goes, we have spent over $6 million dollars in the last 6 years vetting, hiring, investigating, finally terminating and then allowing the continued overpaid service of corrupt tenured professors "serving" as administrators over and over again. The University is a reflection of Springfield corruption politically and Wall Street corruption economically and they would love you to believe the hourly people who clean up after your student, provide them health care, police the campus to keep them safe, feed them and manage the affairs of the students have somehow put the University on the ropes. What an absurd notion.
The ranks of union represented jobs at this University have only been reduced by the closing of positions through early retirement incentives departments couldn't afford in the first place and through attrition not because of a lack of interest in union membership. Chancellor Wise declared at a "Town Hall" that she wanted equal pay for women as a goal of her administration. However at the exact same moment her labor negotiators were trying to dissolve structured pay schedules which were designed to eliminate the kind of subjectivity that allowed supervisors to descriminate against women and minorities in the first place. A contradiction she has yet to address to my satisfaction being too busy spending your money on holiday video cards for youtube. We need to greatly reduce the number of 6 and 7 figure salary positions at this university and eliminate redundancy on that end as a proper response to the ethics crisis this University is still in.
Jeer all you like.
The unions would do well to consider different leadership. Creativity about compensation is what's needed. Not the voices of those looking to make a name for themselves as political activists, using antiquated methods of negotiation. Compensation is not all about wages. What can the university do that would be of significant value for workers that the they are already doing for students? Can they use eminent domain to provide cheap, close housing? Can they provide free tuition at Parkland that could otherwise not be obtained? Can they provide access to the health center driving down health costs while providing convenience. Can they have a group access to expert financial planning to manage their money for the long term without falling into traps to retire earlier?
People who live paycheck to paycheck put ALL of their money into the economy, they don't have a choice. Wages that do not keep up with the cost of living will not help us get out of the recession you are so concerned about. More income = more money spent on local businesses.
If you look at the union food service worker above, at $17,000 a year, that's $8.17 an hour. The other links in the comments show a maximum of $15.79, $15.28, ooo a $16.98 and a $16.59. And that's the maximum, which is probably only reachable if you have been working for the University for years and/or if you have a large amount of experience behind you.
What do you do for a living and how much are you paid? We should also get the chance to tell your boss if you are making too much and how you should be grateful to even have money coming in. At what pay point is it acceptable to speak up about your pay instead of just taking it on the chin?
Please explain where you see the $8.17/hour for a food service worker. All UIUC jobs are well above that amount in the posted amounts on the SUCCS website. Additionally, $8.17/hour is below the state minimum wage of $8.25/hour, so I find it difficult to believe UIUC would be paying that amount.
As someone married to an individual who previously worked as a BSW on third shift for UIUC, I cannot tell you how many times I heard stories of workers sleeping on the job, playing on the computer, watching YouTube, and locking themselves in classrooms to "clean" while reading books, sleeping, or otherwise not doing their job. I'm not disagreeing that the pay should be in line with the amount of work done, but from my experience there was not enough work to justify the pay or the number of people doing the job.
Sure! 52 weeks in a year, 40 hours in a week. That's 2080 hours a year.
Divide $17,000 by 2080 hours to get amount per hour, or $8.17 per hour.
Did I miss a step? Or maybe $17k is after taxes, which would make a big difference in the amount. If so, I apologize for my miscalculations.
$8.17 that's NOT true and you know it! That's lower than min. wage! and according to the email from Elyne Cole, they have an entry rate of 12.47 and progress to 17.09 after 2 years! Cmon now, don't do that!!! The union leadership is being greedy!!! It will never be enough!
I agree with you here. I am an employee and in a union here at UIUC and you are correct. Now, don't get me wrong. I am all for solidarity and I will come out and support all of the unions when I believe that there's been an injustice. But in my opinion, this union has become notoriously greedy and is ALWAYS asking for more and threating to strike (they/we are paid decently) and why? because they know that they are the folks who have to clean the buildings and serve food ect. That's crazy to me! This is just my opinion.
They will work this out and just watch - They will be threating to strike next or the year after again! Enough is a enough!
You're not getting the point about basic supply and demand, if we only paid Mr. or Mrs. X $100,000, but on the open market they are worth $200,000, another school will see the value in the skills and resume they have to offer and will give them an offer to recruit them away. Eventually the university will be left with someone worth $100,000 with a skill set to match, the university's fortunes will shrink, it will become a less sought after place to work and then everyone's jobs and pay will be affected. When you're talking about food service or cleaning services, you're just not looking at the same competition, there are no advanced skills to drive up wages like this, sorry, just the way it is, my position is like that as well, but I'm seeking to train and educate myself to put myself in a position to make myself more competitive. If you want to be in demand, I suggest you do the same.
One thing the financial collapse, and recession has brought on is the animosity toward others money. The 401k investments tanked. People used their 401k for times of unemployment, buying houses, and trying to maintain their previous standard of living. Wages did not go up significantly for the majority of working Americans. Benefits were cut by the employers. Financial instability led to fear, and jealousy. The upper middle class hung in there. The wealthy did more than fine. The lower middle class slid into the working poor; and the poor increased in numbers.
The comments directed toward the striking union workers demonstrate that people "without a dog in the fight" have no qualms about expressing their opinions on matters that they have no knowledge about. They worry about their own money; and wants no one else to benefit. They have "no dog in the fight"; but they justify their fears, and jealousy with "it's a dog eat dog world" philosophy. They do the same thing in regard to public pensions.
It is the workers fight. It is a fight between well paid management, and low paid workers who are becoming the working poor. Public opinion is divided; but public opinion has no place in the fight.
In response to dd1961 post. Just what level of education or what college degree do you have to have to be a university spokeswomen? I'm curious.
As to the post by constantly amazed. Let's not cloud up the story with any facts. You'll have all the anti union folks in a dither!
I guess that it depends on the what the market can bear. Can she go somewhere else and make that kind of money?
Regardless, a worker should be comparing what they can get in the same job somewhere else to determine under payment not a person who has a high level of education. Also, the worker should be up front on what that 17K is for. Is it for a 37.5 hour week that is not 50 weeks a year? Does it include any benefits, or are they considered part time so have to try and foot health insurance themselves? Is that 17k before or after taxes?
I do think the U of I is full of waste in all sorts of places, and they could probably tighten a lot of areas and give the Union workers a raise. I do think that some of the salaries they have paid to some of the high up administrators is a slap in the face, and then to turn around and tell the workers they cannot afford it? That does not sit well, especially to someone who is looking very closely at the cost of tuition and what colleges are affordable. U of I is not on my radar.
To be clear, that was for the Champaign Public Library, not the University, it was for comparison. And yes, I know there are also places that pay less. But to be fair to the workers you have to consider what other public sector workers are being paid. Champaign Unit 4 Schools starts Custodians at $11.51/hr which is less the U of I but they get a steady series of raises and top out at $22.26/hr, Head High School Custodians top out at $26.94/hr. Maybe they should ask for more steps instead???
http://www.champaignschools.org/humanresources/cesp_salary_schedule.pdf
What has been preventing all those "good people" you know from applying for job openings at the University all these years? Criminal records? lack of opposable thumbs? Here is the application link to get started
Here is a link to civil service openings
Nothing stopping you...
BTW April 15th is coming up don't forget to pay your state taxes.
Several times, I have offered the people on here who complain about people wanting to make a living wage a job at the wages that they advocate (although I would have to pay them more due to minimum wage laws). So far, not ONE of them has accepted. If those people think that everybody else should work for nothing and then sleep in a shelter every night, then they need to lead by example. Stop being hypocrites and live up to your beliefs.
This is basic economics. If you are easy to replace, you are going to earn a lower wage.
How long does it take to train a new worker to sweep a room, empty the trash or run a dishwasher? I have worked in a restaurant - worked hard - but it only took about two weeks to be trained in to their product lines. I earned a low wage in that part time job.
My mother is one of these employees on strike. She agrees that the pay raise is not fair, but she would work regardless because the money is a necessity. The U of I pay is pretty good compared to other similar jobs. Due to the better pay, the U of I has better employees that stick around for years. Decrease the wage to what others pay, and you'll get mediocre employees that don't care about sticking around for the long-term. They don't have to spend so much time and money training new employees .If they don't agree come to an agreement with a respectable pay raise, the job won't seem as beneficial as it should be. If an employee is reliable and sticks around for years, they deserve a proper pay raise like with any job. My mother was fortunate enough to get the job she currently has. My parents came here as political refugees over 20 years ago. They were wealthy back in their country but lost everything due to the civil war. My parents were educated but their english kept them from working white collar jobs here in the U.S. They could easily move back to their old country and have well respected jobs and not have to work over 50 hours a week all year around. They chose to stay because my brother hasn't graduated high school and they want to make sure that he gets a proper college education like me and my sister. We both graduated from university. My sister is contributing plenty to society with her job as a chemist, and I'm still in grad school to get my specialist degree. I don't know if we would have been able to afford for school if my mother didn't have the wage that she does now, which is still barelly higher than the poverty level. We grow up with the respect for those that work hard. I'm not sure if I would have had the same respect if I had seen my mother work so hard, yet still not be able to afford enough to raise and feed our family. I'm thankful for what I have, and my mother is to. The pay might sound a lot better than the minimum wage they would get at a fast food restaurant but these employees work hard for their money which barelly gets them by the bare necesseties. I know that this situation might not apply to every employee but it's an example of how there should be more respect for some of these employees. We might have grown up in poverty, but due to some opportunities like these jobs offered, there's going to be a greater contribution to society. People pay more in taxes to support criminals in this country, yet they complain more about helping to food on the table for hard working people. It doesn't make sense.
Food service workers are paid for by housing. This comes directly from the students living in UIUC housing. There are no tax dollars or tuition involved in our salaries. Housing fees go up regularly, as does tuition, but wages do not follow. No one is strong arming tax payers for a raise and it is unfair to compare us to UAW assembly line workers making $32 hour .At top pay for the top classifications we make aproximately half of that. We have not bankrupted a private business and we do not share the privileges, wages, or retirement the UAW did at the height of their power. We also have not asked for a taxpayer funded government bail out. We understand the sentiment against labor unions and we share many of your concerns. We struggle to keep our union focused on issues that matter to us and away from national politics. No one is getting rich in food service and we lack many of the benefits and securities that come with most civil service jobs. We are inelligible for unemployment because UIUC considers us "academic" employees and we also do not have year round employment. Our pensions are unsecure, our contributions are going up for no increased benefit and the retirement age is 67. If anyone believes that food service is unskilled then please come join us and work for the wages you feel are appropriate for an unskilled worker. You will be surprised at the work load and challenges presented. You will earn your money. See if you are able to do this job until the age of 67. These are not "McJobs". There are many civil service jobs requiring degrees and commensurate experience and we do have degree holders working in the kitchen.
There is a rift among us regarding the strike but the vote was democratic and we are all in it together. Would you prefer to criticize us for living off of welfare or for asking for a better wage? We work for a living. No one on campus works harder for their money than food service. Our union dues are significant and involuntary, although membership is optional due to the "fair share" policy. We work for the union and sometimes we need them to work for us. Obviously our union has dissedents and supporters both within and without. Come see our homes, our cars and our bank accounts. We do not suffer our poor coworkers gladly and we rely on the system to weed them out. We do not hate our bosses or our management. Many of them support us. They were once in our position. Most of the administration is very far removed from the realities of our job and I do believe that if they were more familiar with our jobs, as well as their staff, we would reach a better agreement. I envy those of you who cannot find a complaint with your job and are satisifed with your compensation, but if anyone thinks we are riding a gravy train of taxpayer money to an easy retirement you are wrong, wrong, wrong.
People think this is about being greedy but it's the union trying to protect the whole package of benefits the workers get. When the UI looks to make cuts they take from whoever resists the least. So those employees who say they are satisfied with their pay would end up with a cut without the union. They would lose other benefits as well. All for being willing to give it up. Even though the money is there.
From what I hear from my cousin who is a janitor at the Unit 5 School District in Normal Il, janitors there start out at $23/hr. Please feel free to check this out. That is only 60 miles away. Don't forget, starting BSWs here don't reach top pay until after they work 2 years. And that is still $6/hr below that. Do they have a stronger union?
3 days are not enough and it comes at the wrong time. It should come a week or two before move out when it is total destruction and the parents can see what is going on.
We now have more acememic professionals than BSW's in the department who are sitting in front of a computer, doing nothing and draining resources. One person in mangement is sitting by herself in a basement somewhere so she can't cause any more destruction. You would be surprised to know how many janitors have college degrees and are not promoted and descriminated because they are middle-aged, white males who are not robots and ask the tough important questions to improve the department.
800 workers affect the local economy tremendously. A few dollars an hour more an hour or working 12 months a year for the FSW's would make a major difference. Just think about it.....
The bargaining table was the same one they ate dinner at while discussing where the student would go to school and who would be paying for it.
Food service salaries are paid by housing costs not tuition. They are separate and UIUC raises them both frequently. Tuition has gone up 50% in 10 years. Has the value of their education gone up 50% in the same time? Were you just as concerned about the students welfare while this happened? None of us recieved any compensation as a result. Are raises only for people already at the top of the pay scale?
"From 2009 through 2012, the university's budget increased by 12.9 percent and had over $430 million in unrestricted funds. In the same time period campus workers saw a meager wage increase of 1.3 percent."
"Despite campus staff growing an average 1.9 percent from 2005 to 2010, total administrator/professional positions grew by more than ten times that number, at 19.9 percent in the same time period."
http://peoplesworld.org/university-of-illinois-forces-strike-on-campus-w...
If anyone has real concerns about who is being paid too much they need to look above the bottom feeders. The university enjoys putting on a big liberal smiling academic face for the world to see but they act no differently than big business when it comes to cutting costs, poaching professors, hiring scandal plagued administrators, attempting to privatize jobs, disguising their mistakes, or recruiting the necessary talent with "competitive" wages.
We are not even a blurb in the FY 2013 Budget, though BSWs make an honorable mention. For the record, it takes Food service twice as long to earn top pay, and then we are laid off 12-14 weeks per year (again, with no hope of unemployment) and must cover the costs for our benefits with a lower paying 2nd job. If we can find one.
http://www.pb.uillinois.edu/Documents/budgetbook/FY2013Budgetbook.pdf
Aw...... poor management got their hands dirty.... Management better get used to manual work if a reasonable contract is not signed. Imagine what would have happened if the strike occurred at the beginning of a semester, and lasted longer. This strike was a planned three day strike meant as a wake up call.
Do you realize what a strong statement that makes for us to maintain and encourage our union? An open admission from management that we are in poverty and you wish us to remain so? Unions were created for management like this. They must not be as outdated as I thought.
You have a good way of convincing a moderate who is neither pro nor anti union to become quite the flag bearer for SEIU Local 73.
The anti-union crowd are those infected by the extreme right wing. They are the same people who get whipped up by the NRA, and Fox News. Fortunately, their time is limited. As the country becomes more diversified, their numbers shrink. This is a bad time for unions especially those made up of public employees. However, times will change as the majority of the country sees the need for increased union membership to combat the growing financial disparity. Unions created the middle class. Everyone benefits financially when the common man can achieve a livable wage in exchange for his labor. Continued solidarity among all unions is needed until that time comes again.
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