URBANA – The University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign has closed a dining hall and stopped serving hot food at campus stores while building and food service workers are on strike.
Students say lines are longer and the food options are limited at what remains open.
Sophomore Sauntrel Johnson has been missing his favorite part of his meal, the chocolate cookie. However, he supports the strike.
“Some of these people are definitely more personable than other people whose wages we pay who I probably will never see,” Johnson said.
Food and building service workers with Service Employees International Union Local 73 walked off the job on Monday. According to SEIU, the university last offered them a dollar hourly raise, followed by 75 cent raises for the two following years. That is lower than what the university offered before the strike — and what union members voted to strike instead of accept.
According to university spokesperson Robin Kaler, the previous offer was higher to prevent a strike.
“The two sides are closer on the duration of an agreement and other points, but the union’s compensation proposal is still outside the market,” she said.
Other campus unions rallied with SEIU on Wednesday and Thursday. Casandis Hunt is vice president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 698, which represents technical, storage and other workers.
She said they are in contract negotiations too and are trying to get wages that will keep up with inflation.
As an example, Hunt said they may agree on a 2 percent raise in negotiations. If inflation turns out to be 9 percent that year, their paycheck won’t be able to keep up.
“By the time we go back to negotiate another contract, we’re asking for more because we’re so far behind. But they try to say that we’re asking for too much,” she added.
Hunt said she hoped to quit her second job when she started working at the University of Illinois. Now, she says she works three jobs to make ends meet.