NORMAL, Ill. – The dedicated workers who keep Illinois State University running ended their four-week strike on May 6 after winning a robust new contract.
An overwhelming majority of the more than 300 ISU employees represented by AFSCME Local 1110 (Council 31) voted to ratify the new contract agreement. More than 95% of votes cast were “Yes.”
“This struggle was about fair pay, and we won that. Even more importantly, it was about respect, and we earned it,” said Chuck Carver, a building service worker and president of Local 1110, which represents workers in building services, grounds, dining services and other ISU departments.
Pay provisions in the contract include an immediate 3.5% raise and a $1,500 lump-sum payment upon ratification. Workers will also receive annual raises of 3% beginning July 1, 2026, and going through 2029. In all, workers will receive a 16.5% compounded increase over the life of the five-year agreement, which runs through June 30, 2030.
The workers went on strike last month after ISU administrators provoked the strike by insisting on two takeaway demands: No retroactive pay increase back to last July and no assurance that union members will receive at least the same annual percentage increase as administrators.
The lump-sum payment in this agreement is greater than the value of a retroactive raise for the average Local 1110 member — even more so for lower-paid workers. Meanwhile, the new contract reinstates the me-too provision as of July 2028 and going forward.
“The terms of this agreement were available to ISU management on February 10, when union members voted down the university’s takeaway demands, and on April 7, when we met with the mediator before our strike deadline,” said AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch, who’s also an AFSCME International vice president. “Instead, management chose a path of conflict and division that brought hardship to workers, disruption to students and a stain on ISU’s name.”
“In an inspiring display of courage and solidarity — and with the support of students, faculty, staff and alumni, members and leaders of other unions, elected officials and countless others — ISU employees stood up, stayed strong and prevailed,” Lynch added.