Faculty strike at University of Illinois Springfield continues into second week
Source: IPM News
Administration, union remain divided over salary increases
By Ben Szalinski April 14, 2026
SPRINGFIELD — A strike by faculty members at the University of Illinois Springfield has entered its second week as the union and administration remained divided over salary increases.
The two sides have been unable to reach an agreement over salary increases despite the help of a federal mediator and eight bargaining sessions having taken place between tenured and tenure-track faculty since the strike began on April 3.
“From our perspective, the university is not dealing with us in good faith when it comes to the demands around compensation,” union president Dathan Powell, an associate theater professor at UIS, told Capitol News Illinois. “We can see the salaries that our highest paid administrators are getting and what we’re asking for is well within the reason of what inflationary costs are demand of people who are paid a lot less.”
The UIS United Faculty union is seeking a 2.6% increase in the current fiscal year and 6% over the next two years, according to the university’s bargaining update. UIS has offered three options for increases, two of which begin with 1% raises that could increase under the University of Illinois system’s University Salary Program.
Photo: Jenna Schweikert/Capitol News Illinois
Read more: https://ipmnewsroom.org/faculty-strike-at-university-of-illinois-springfield-continues-into-second-week/