On Strike: Lessons for us all

Note: This column was written before AFSCME Local 1110 reached an agreement on a new contract, ending the strike. To read more about the settlement, click here.

For three weeks and counting as On the Move went to press, more than 300 members of AFSCME Local 1110 at Illinois State University in Bloomington have been out on strike. They are building service, food service and grounds workers, many with years, even decades, of seniority at the university.

Like so many working people in our country today, they struggle to make ends meet on modest paychecks. So, undoubtedly, going out on strike was a real hardship for them.

They only took that drastic step after university management dragged out negotiations for months once their contract had expired and then refused to consider any retroactive pay as part of a settlement. Without such retroactivity, the employees would be nearly two years with no pay increase.

Even after a 97% strike authorization vote was taken in late March, the university remained adamant in its refusal to negotiate further. It was more than frustrating to encounter such outright hostility from a public sector entity, especially a university that is shaping the future of tens of thousands of young people. 

Over the course of the strike, there were many more frustrations as it became increasingly clear that the university’s intransigence was being driven by its top leadership—the president and vice-president.

These two individuals proved unrelentingly hostile to the workers who are the backbone of ISU. They also demonstrated a shocking disregard for the truth—continuously mischaracterizing the issues in the strike and greatly exaggerating the cost of the union’s proposals, even when testifying before legislative committees.  

Elected officials who tried to help resolve the strike were deeply disturbed by the pair’s inexplicable resistance to the workers’ modest demands.
It’s hard to even imagine why the leadership of a major university would be so determined to incite conflict and spread disinformation. We do know that both of these men are relatively new to their positions (hired over the past two years) and appear to share a hunger for power above all else.
I’ve personally dealt with many employers over the years and, with the exception of the notorious Bruce Rauner, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any as vile as these two.

It’s hard to speak of good news at such a deeply disturbing time. But, actually, there is some: While the university leadership demonstrated its contempt for its workers, students and their families have stood up by the thousands to support them and express appreciation for the work they do every day.

Students brought food and drink to the strikers. They joined in rallies and other demonstrations. They even staged their own walkout in support of the strike. And along with their families and the local community, they gathered more than 6,000 signatures on petitions calling on the university to reach a fair settlement.

This statement from one student sums up what we heard from so many: “I really appreciate the workers who clean the floors and fix any issues. They deserve to be paid enough to support themselves for all the great work they do.”

It was amazing to behold the breadth and depth of the support from students and their parents. I took special note of it because I am always struck by how often those who benefit from the labor of public employees at all levels of government barely seem aware of that work. Roads that are plowed in snowstorms in the gloomy night so folks can get to work. Buses that pick kids up for school each morning and return them safely at day’s end. Support provided to individuals so severely disabled that their families cannot keep them at home. Trash pick-ups with reliable regularity to keep neighborhoods clean. Thorough inspections to ensure restaurants’ cleanliness. It’s a list that could go on and on. All of it work that is seldom noted and even more rarely affirmed.

The ISU struggle is so important because Local 1110 members stood up for themselves, refusing to be cowed by the bullying of those at the top, who are themselves handsomely paid (nearly $1 million in compensation just for the two of them).

But it’s also important because it’s a rare instance of workers clearly seeing how much they’re appreciated and how much their work matters. 

As another student put it: “They do everything for us and get the least in return. It’s not fair.”

No, it’s not fair. But the selfish, mean-spirited guys running ISU are not our only barometers of what the university community considers fair.

Fortunately, there are also the thousands of students and other folks, including many of our state’s elected officials, who have stood up for the strikers in their fight.

So let’s take courage—and heart!—from the Local 1110 members at ISU. In a very tough fight, they provide a powerful reminder that the work AFSCME members do every day is vitally important to the public good—and whether we get ‘thank you’s’ on any given day, we are building a reservoir of goodwill that will be there when it’s needed most.