Updated Oct. 3, 2024:

We are pleased that members of SEIU Local 73 have ratified the agreement we reached earlier this week. Employees returned to work on Tuesday and continue to provide outstanding service in furtherance of the mission of the university and students’ experience. The agreement is consistent with our mutual goal of providing attractive wages in line with the market and making our campus a desirable place to work. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with SEIU Local 73 and other union-represented employees to make our campus an excellent place to live, study, and work.

Previous statement, Oct. 1, 2024:

Negotiators for the SEIU building and food service employees and for the University have reached tentative agreement on a new contract. Union negotiators say they will recommend it for ratification, and employees will return to work tomorrow (Oct. 1) pending the outcome of a three-day ratification vote. The tentative agreement is consistent with our mutual goal of providing attractive wages in line with the market and making our campus a desirable place to work. We are hopeful members will vote to ratify, and we look forward to working together to serve students, faculty and staff.

Previous Statement, Sept. 23, 2024:

The university is committed to consistency of services for our students, faculty and staff. Essential cleaning and dining services will continue across campus for the duration of the strike. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we prioritize cleaning restrooms, removing trash and maintaining entryways in the event of a strike.

We value these team members and their critical contributions to our mission. These two groups (dining service workers and building service workers) have separate contracts, but they are represented by the same bargaining team. We are listening to our employees’ needs through the bargaining team, as is standard practice. 

We have been bargaining in good-faith, and we reached agreement twice – on Aug. 15 and again on Sept. 11 – with the SEIU Local 73 bargaining team. Members for both groups then rejected these agreements, both of which were consistent with the market. On each occasion, the bargaining team had indicated the agreed upon offer would meet the needs of their members. Unfortunately, that has not translated to ratification among members. 

We are committed to working with the SEIU bargaining team, and we have six additional mediation sessions scheduled for Sept. 26, 27, 30 and Oct. 1, 2 and 3. We will continue to provide updates as they are available and more information may be found on the Illinois Human Resources website.