University of Illinois-Springfield faculty and administration came to a tentative agreement on a new contract over the weekend, averting a possible strike.
The deal was reached late Saturday afternoon after intense bargaining with a federal mediator on Friday and beginning again on Saturday.
According to the State Journal Register, the new deal would be for 4 years and be retroactive to August 16th and run through August 2025. Kristi Barnwell, associate professor of history who heads UIS’s United Faculty said to the SJ-R on Saturday that no date has been set for faculty to ratify the contract. No further specifics on the contract have been released, but UIS United Faculty’s Facebook Page says that specifics will be made public once the contract is formally ratified.
Wages had been the major sticking point between the two sides. UIS United Faculty had authorized a strike set to begin this week if no deal had been reached.
In a joint statement released by the administration and UIS United Faculty, the two sides said they looked forward to continuing to work together to fulfill the school’s mission.