* Background is here if you need it. AFSCME Council 31 press release…

Ending their four-week strike at Illinois State University in Normal, an overwhelming majority of the more than 300 building services, grounds, dining services and other ISU employees represented by AFSCME Local 1110 voted to ratify the new union contract agreement reached late Monday night. More than 95% of votes cast were Yes.

“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 president of AFSCME Local 1110.

Pay provisions in the contract include an immediate 3.5% wage increase and a $1,500 lump-sum payment upon ratification. Annual wage increases of 3% will follow on July 1 of 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029—in all, a 16.5% compounded increase over the life of the five-year agreement, which runs through June 30, 2030.

ISU top administrators provoked the strike by insisting on two takeaway demands—no pay increase retroactive to last July 1 and no assurance that union members will receive at least the same annual percentage increase as university administrators.

In the end, the lump-sum ratification payment in this agreement is greater than the value of a retroactive pay increase for the average member of Local 1110, and even more valuable for lower-paid workers. Meanwhile, the union preserved the contract’s me-too provision as of July 2028 and going forward.

“The terms of this agreement were available to ISU management on February 10, when union members voted down the university’s takeaway demands, and on April 7, when we met with the mediator before our strike deadline,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. “Instead, management chose a path of conflict and division that brought hardship to workers, disruption to students and a stain on ISU’s name.

“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.”

As part of the settlement, the union will drop its lawsuit and withdraw the numerous charges of serious unfair labor practices it filed against the university.

Strikers will return to work tomorrow (Wednesday, May 6) at their first scheduled shift.

Glad that’s over. There was no good reason for this, particularly hiring striker replacements. More details here.