ECC union ratifies contract agreement

After seven months of negotiations, an agreement between Elgin Community College and the faculty union inched closer to completion Sunday night after the union ratified it.

Details of the agreement were not available, but the ECC faculty union voted to accept the terms agreed upon in April.

The ECC board is expected to vote on the three-year deal sometime Monday.

Gary Christenson, spokesman for the faculty union, said he was happy to move forward, but was displeased about how long it took to reach this point.

“Personally I’m not pleased with the overall process,” Christenson said. “I think seven months to negotiate a contract without too many substantial changes to it is quite ridiculous.”

He said he expects the ECC board to ratify the agreement.

The union had filed a 10-day intent-to-strike notice in early April, but a federal mediator was brought in as a last resort to get the deal done.

ECC’s more than 500 faculty members have been teaching on an expired contract for the entire school year.

An ECC board member could not be reached for comment late Sunday.