ISU employees overwhelmingly approve 5-year contract to end strike

NORMAL (25News Now) - The month-long strike by hundreds of Illinois State University employees has come to an end, with the union claiming victory on key salary demands.

A release from AFSCME Local 1110 said more than 95% of its members voted to ratify the five-year contract, and they will return to work Wednesday even as union leaders criticized ISU’s position during the lengthy negotiations.

In a statement released late Tuesday night, ISU President Aondover Tarhule called on the campus community to “reestablish our sense of shared values and mission.”

As part of the deal, the union agreed to drop its lawsuit alleging ISU hired illegal strikebreakers, along with several complaints that the administration engaged in unfair labor practices.

AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said in a statement that “...management chose a path of conflict and division that brought hardship to workers, disruption to students and a stain on ISU’s name.”

About 350 building services, grounds, and dining employees will receive an immediate 3.5% pay raise, plus a $1,500 lump sum payment. Annual 3% wage increases will follow through mid-2030.

The union said ISU “provoked” the strike by not agreeing to retroactive pay raises dating back to July 1 of 2025, and by not awarding union workers the same annual percentage increases as non-union university administrators.

However, the union said it won out in the end even as the administration refused to budge on the contentious issues.

Union officials noted the lump sum payment as a reward for ratification is greater than what the average union worker would have received with a retroactive pay hike.

A release from ISU said union workers will receive higher than 3% raises in 2028 and 2029 if raises given to non-union employees in those years exceed 3%. The union calls this the contract’s “me-too” provision.

“This struggle was about fair pay, and we won that. Even more importantly, it was about respect, and we earned it,” said Chuck Carver, a building service worker and AFSCME Local 1110 president.

“In an inspiring display of courage and solidarity—and with the support of students, faculty, staff and alumni, members and leaders of other unions, elected officials, and countless others—ISU employees stood up, stayed strong and prevailed," Carver said in a prepared statement.

In a prepared statement, President Tarhule called for unity after a bitter labor dispute.

“The University appreciates the efforts made by both bargaining teams as they worked late into the night to reach this agreement, which reflects a collective commitment to moving forward together,” said Tarhule.

“I encourage our campus community to unite in the spirit of collaboration, respect all individuals’ rights and choices, and work to heal differences of opinion, real or perceived, so that we may reestablish our sense of shared values and mission,” Tarhule said.

You can watch 25News - any newscast, anywhere - streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.