Getting Organized

Normal, Illinois

Clericals on the Illinois State University (ISU) campus voted decisively on Dec. 12 to become AFSCME members. At press time, the university expected collective bargaining to be under way by the end of February.

"This is a big step forward for clericals at ISU," says new AFSCME member Peggy Haycraft.

Solidarity is strong among the clericals. "There's a common purpose now," says bargaining committee member Deborah Brown. "We know that change can be made."

ISU clericals are being paid substantially less than state employees doing the same kind of work, according to union organizers.

Local 3700 Pres. Judy Stoll made the trip from nearby University of Illinois to help with the organizing effort. President of the clericals' local on her campus since it organized in 1991, she found that her most persuasive argument was the dramatic gains in pay the union has made.

"I talked to a secretary III, and I'm a secretary III," she says. "I was making $2 an hour more than she was."

The vote was 230-144. The unit, which is affiliated with Illinois Council 31, does not yet have a local number.