NIU faculty to form union, seeks voice in school decisions

DEKALB, Ill. (AP) - Northern Illinois University faculty members plan to form a union.

The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1SUPcRS ) the instructors will join the Illinois Federation of Teachers. The union represents 100,000 elementary school teachers and other classroom employees as well as faculty and staff at several Illinois universities and community colleges.

NIU support staff unionized last summer after clerical and other administrative assistants raised concerns about wages and complained they had not had a raise for several years.

The university issued a statement saying administrators would wait for a certification decision by state labor regulators. The school "values our faculty and respects their right to organize," it said.

Rosemary Feurer is an associate professor of history. She says the faculty union wants more say in administrative decisions.

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Information from: The Daily Chronicle, http://www.daily-chronicle.com