ECC faculty vote to authorize strike

The faculty at Elgin Community College moved closer this week to going on strike after expressing frustration that the negotiating teams have not met since mid-December.

The faculty have voted to authorize a strike, though no decision to actually strike has been made, a union spokesman said.

The ECC board of trustees and the union that represents nearly 500 full-time and adjunct instructors have been meeting since October to negotiate a new contract.

The previous four-year agreement expired at the end of the December.

“It’s been very frustrating,” said Gary Christenson, a member of the union’s negotiating team. “We’ve had delay after delay in getting them back to the table.”

The sides last met Dec. 15 and are scheduled to meet again Feb. 2 and 15. ECC board members disputed that they are to blame for the delay and said they are working to resolve issues.

“We’re moving forward as fast as we can,” said ECC board Chairman Eleanor MacKinney. “We have a responsibility to make wise decisions. We can’t allow that action to push us into making bad decisions.”

The sides must attempt mediation and the union must file a 10-day intent-to-strike notice before the faculty can legally strike. Neither has happened yet.

In December, the union’s bargaining team said it walked out of negotiations after the board offered no increase on any financial items. Board members said they didn’t make any sort of offer.

Christenson said the meetings on Feb. 2 and 15 will determine the union’s next move.

“We’ll see what they’ve got for us,” said Christenson, a journalism instructor. “We hope there’s a change in attitude from zero percent.”

The union is seeking increases in the following: salaries for full-time and part-time instructors, overload pay (for teaching beyond certain contractual limits), and professional development. Christenson has declined to offer specifics.

The union plans to hold informational pickets outside the main entrances to ECC’s buildings throughout the day Monday.