The SIUC administration cast its final contract offer at the Faculty Association late Thursday night, but faculty union officials haven't bitten yet. The union's departmental representatives voted 21-16 in favor of the final offer Friday night, but the ultimate decision will stem from the vote at the union general membership meeting, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 31 or Feb. 1. Faculty Association President Morteza Daneshdoost said Friday the upcoming meeting could produce varied results. We have to wait and see what happens, nothing is for sure. Two hours before submitting the final offer, the administration rejected a faculty request for an arbitrator to settle the contract.
Arbitration negates the faculty's legal right to file an intent to strike.
We really should have gone to a third party. The administration rejected arbitration because the remaining issues were managerial rights of University officials and could not be negotiated further, according to Administrative spokesman Tom Britton. The two-year proposal includes an average 5 percent raise for the first year per faculty member and 6 percent for the second year. Although the administration has made concessions toward faculty salaries and faculty lines, the final offer fails to meet union demands for both issues. The administration has agreed to form a joint-committee with the faculty to review lost lines and to publicly voice its rationale every time a cut is made.