Friday, February 9, 2018 - Vol. 118 Issue 54
‘All stick, no carrot’ UPI and supporters picket Western contract offerings
By Nicholas Ebelhack editor-in-chief
They want a fair contract. And they want it now. This is what the University Professionals of Illinois and their supporters picketed for at Chandler Park Thursday afternoon. Over 170 people gathered with signs in hand demonstrating their concerns over prolonged contract negotiations with Western Illinois University. “It looks a lot like what a strike looks like, we have people with signs voicing our concerns and what it accomplishes is two things,” said UPI President Bill Thompson. “First it educates the public about what our concerns are and it also demonstrates the intensity of our concerns by the fact that we are out there demonstrating.”
While not a strike, Thompson said that the demonstration was essential to showing that UPI members are prepared to continue negotiating for what he called a “mutually beneficial contract.” “We wouldn’t be doing informational picketing if things were going swimmingly.” On Feb. 2, Western released their latest on the record proposal to the public. UPI leadership’s response was that they do not see a mutual benefit. “So far they have not given us a mutually beneficial proposal,” Thompson said. “It’s all stick, no carrot. I want a carrot. At the end of the stick there is no carrot, its just more stick.
Picket page 2
NICHOLAS EBELHACK/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
University Professionals of Illinois members and supporters picket outside of Chandler Park Thursday afternoon in response to prolonged ongoing negotiations. Participants stand dissatisfied with the current proposal from Western Illinois University.