Elgin Community College’s faculty union and administration failed to reach agreement on a new contract late Monday after a string of offers and counteroffers, setting the stage for a walkout Tuesday morning.
ECC Faculty Association spokesman Gary Christenson said 212 full- and part-time instructors would walk the picket line starting at 7:30 a.m. College officials were unavailable for comment late Monday, but in statements earlier in the day, they said that in the event of a walkout, classes would be canceled for up to 20,000 students.
“We wanted to avoid [a strike], and that’s why we were meeting for over 61/2 hours today,” Christenson said. “We feel like we’re being backed into it.”
Though the college has endured contentious labor negotiations in the past, none danced so close to a looming strike.
“I don’t ever remember it going into the last night of the last day,” college President Michael Shirley said earlier Monday.
The college and the Faculty Association were deadlocked over pay, health insurance and workload equity. But as the deadline approached, insurance and increases in salary, which averages $69,000 a year for faculty members, appeared to be the sticking points.
The board wants to switch the faculty to a managed health care plan, which union members oppose, saying they will have less flexibility.
“We don’t want HMO quality,” Christenson said. “We’ve offered to pay the cost to keep it the same, but they don’t want to allow us to do that.”
The union decided to strike after the board refused the union’s proposal to extend the current contract, which expired Dec. 31, for one year and allow an insurance committee made of faculty and administrators to make recommendations on health-care options and be involved in the bidding process.
The board initially proposed a 4.5 percent salary increase, but faculty members sought up to 6 percent.
A federal mediator was brought in two weeks ago when talks broke down. When that did not bring a resolution, the union filed a 10-day notice to strike with the state Educational Labor Relations Board.
On Friday union officials suggested extending the faculty’s contract. The one-year extension would have kept health care coverage intact and increased salaries by 5 percent.
But in the volley of offers and counteroffers, the board came back Monday morning with a 5.1 percent salary increase and the managed health care plan.
“If we take big hits on insurance, they have to give something with salary,” said Christenson. “The problem has been that they want to take, but often they don’t want to give back very much.”
Shirley said Elgin’s faculty is already the highest paid among community colleges in the state.
Faculty members started cleaning out their desks and offices Monday, gearing up for a strike. Many took their personal belongings in case the administration decides to bring in replacement instructors.
During a strike, entities such as Northern Illinois University that rent space from the college will still be able to use it. Sports teams will continue to play, and college buildings will be open on a limited schedule.
On Monday some students were not aware of the looming strike. Others worried about its effect on their grades or plans to transfer credits to four-year universities.
“I think most of the students are angry that the board has let it go this far,” said Jeannette Hallmark, 20, of Streamwood. “It’s disrupting our class time. We paid money for them to teach.”
