Faculty pickets meeting over pay

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University faculty members picketed the university's Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, demanding campus officials make a counter proposal to their request for a 21-percent salary hike.

But board members, who are playing no role in contentious contract talks between the Carbondale campus and its faculty union, did not mention the dozen picketers lining the back of the hall where the panel held its monthly meeting.

Talks going on since February hit a rough patch after campus negotiators declined to counter the union's demand for a 21-percent raise in salary and benefits over three years. Their contract expired June 30.

A federal mediator has been asked to step in, and sessions with that person will soon be scheduled, said Morteza Daneshdoost, president of the group.

Union members claim they're paid lower than their counterparts at peer universities, a claim that school officials have in the past acknowledged but now say they're powerless to rectify due to the state's fiscal problems.

Chancellor Walter Wendler has asked administrators to prepare to make more cuts in the campus' budget this year should state lawmakers make more cuts in the school's funding, Glenn Poshard told reporters after Thursday's meeting. The former congressman is vice chancellor for administration at the Carbondale campus.

Money question

Campus negotiators can't make a counter salary proposal because it's not clear how much money they'll have to work with, Poshard said.

"Most people believe there will be added rescissions coming from the state" this year, Poshard said. "We want to be prudent here."

The Carbondale campus laid off 30 nonacademic employees last year, cut courses and made other reductions to comply with about $7 million in cuts brought on by the state's budget crunch.

In addition, the campus is starting the current school year with about $10 million less than it started last year, school officials have said.

The faculty union contends the school spends too much on administrative needs.

"There's plenty of money in the system," said Prof. Joan Friedenberg. She was holding a sign that read: "Bloated administration or quality education? You choose."