December 15, 2016

SIU, Faculty Association reach tentative agreement

SIU Carbondale and the SIUC Faculty Association (IEA/NEA), which represents approximately 500 tenured and tenure-track faculty on the SIU Carbondale campus, have reached tentative agreement on a collective bargaining agreement that will be in place until June 30, 2018.

The proposed new agreement will replace the collective bargaining agreement that expired June 30, 2014. The administration and faculty have been operating under the terms of the previous agreement since that time. Negotiations on the proposed new agreement began in May 2014.

Representatives of the administration and association said the agreement was reached after collegial, respectful negotiations that focused on working to address the interests of both sides.

“As important as the progress we’ve made is the way we’ve made it,” said Faculty Association President Dave Johnson. “This time around, both bargaining teams, Faculty Association and administration alike, made a real effort to find common ground. This agreement is good news for SIUC.”

Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell agreed.

“I’m proud that the bargaining teams worked hard together to build an agreement in the context of a difficult environment,” he said. “I appreciate the positive, collaborative approach taken by the teams and look forward to continuing to work with the Faculty Association to address issues of mutual concern.”

The new agreement will include improvements in a number of areas, including the following:

  • Revised procedures for development, review, and approval of program changes;
  • Clarification in procedures for grievances, and for faculty promotion and tenure;
  • Revisions in procedures for faculty workload assignments;
  • Clarification of faculty rights and responsibilities regarding the syllabi for university courses;
  • Definition of conditions under which furloughs can be implemented;
  • “Fair share” payments by faculty if association membership tops 50 percent.


In recognition of the challenging fiscal environment, the tentative agreement includes no salary increases. In the event the state produces a full fiscal-year budget for public universities, a “re-opener” clause gives the association the option to reopen negotiations with the administration to consider possible wage increases.

Negotiations continue between SIU Carbondale and Illinois Education Association unions representing non-tenure track faculty, graduate assistants, and civil service employees.

The Faculty Association’s membership voted on December 12 to approve the tentative agreement, which will go to the SIU Board of Trustees for final consideration and ratification. The full text of the tentative agreement can be found on this site: https://siucfa.wordpress.com/. Once ratified, the full text of the agreement will be also be available at the following site: http://laborrelations.siu.edu/index.php.

(For more information: Faculty Association, Dave Johnson, President, SIUC-FA, 618/201-8171; university, Rae Goldsmith, 618/453-2589)