The November 1996 unionization of the SIUC faculty has prompted some administrative and professional staff members to push for a union of their own, a member of the organizing committee says.

The faculty winning their elections has sparked us to have hope, said Don Castle, coordinator of University Programming. Unions, politicians, and voters impact our working conditions. We don’t have a collective voice to talk back.

He said he fears the administrative and professional staffers are not being heard. Castle said the professional staff unionizing will create a fair environment.

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People in our group think that because the other groups are at the bargaining table that we have no voice, Castle said. Well, we want to change that. I’m a true believer in collective bargaining. I look at collective bargaining as a process that is good for me.

Castle and the Illinois Education Association sent out to about 500 letters titled This is the Right Time to administrative and professional staff members. The letter states four other unions represent employees at SIUC and if professional staff members are not in a union, they are not represented.

This is the right time to protect your interests and exercise self-determination, the letter declares.

Jim Clark, an IEA representative, said the letters are the first step in the process. Whether organizers like Castle and the IEA pursue unionizing will depend on the staff response.

It’s exploratory and that is all we represented this as, he said.

Clark said he is pleased with the response thus far, but he would not release how many responses have been turned in.

If the employees indicate they want to unionize, authorization cards will be distributed. If at least 30 percent of the administration and professional staff who would make up the union indicate they want to engage in collective bargaining, the labor board will call for an election.

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This is not the first attempt by administrative and professional staff to unionize. Clark said the letter is not a surprise to most people at the University.

There has been continuing interest in this with the professional staff way back to the ’80s, he said. They have never been forgotten by the IEA, and we have kept in touch with them and said that when they are ready to move they should let us know.

So this is one of those opportunities, and we’ll see where it takes us.

Castle was heavily involved in attempting to form a union for the professional staffers in 1988 and 1990. Both times, the administrative and professional staff voted not to be represented by the union.

Castle said the timing has not been right since 1990.

We were darn close in 1990, Castle said.

Clark said they likely were unsuccessful because of the failed faculty unionizing attempt in 1988.

Castle said the attempt will be successful because employees are more aware of what unions are and what they can do.

People understand the question of Do you want to be involved with a union and IEA?’ better, Castle said. Less need to be made aware of being represented by the union, which answers the question should I or shouldn’t I.

Currently there are about 700 administrative and professional staff. Clark said the exact makeup and membership numbers of such a union would be flushed out in the petition process. The union likely would include counselors, researchers, project specialists and academic advisers.

Professional staff at SIUE already are represented by the IEA/NEA. Castle said this benefits everyone at SIUE from the professional staff to the high administrators.

What SIUE has is a contract for their professional staff, which is good, Castle said. They probably have contracted rights that we don’t have.

Jim Sullivan, faculty union president, said he supports all efforts by the professional staff to unionize.

We are completely supportive of that and stand ready to assist our administrative and professional colleagues in any way they might request, Sullivan said.

William Capie, associate vice chancellor for Administration, said it is unknown how such a union would affect SIUC or who in the administration would negotiate with them.

It is all yet to be determined, Capie said.