SIU-Edwardsville faculty talks union as budget response

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Some faculty members at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville say they are considering forming a union to have a voice in the turmoil over the lack of a state budget.

Charles Berger is an English professor and one of the faculty members leading a petition drive to try to organize the 400 professors on campus. Berger told the Belleville News-Democrat http://bit.ly/1SnaIeu that faculty are generally happy with wages and other more-typical concerns.

But he says he and others worry that the lack of state funding is doing long-term damage to the school.

Illinois' public colleges and universities have not received any state funding since last summer because Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrats who control the General Assembly are locked in a stalemate over how to address a massive spending deficit.

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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com