URBANA, IL (Chambana Today) – Employees of Champaign County are set to demonstrate following a vote to strike tomorrow in front of the Champaign County courthouse.
Workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) will demonstrate just weeks after conducting a near-unanimous vote to authorize a strike against the county if necessary.
Union members and their supporters will picket before holding a rally in front of the courthouse at 101 East Main Street in Urbana at 4:30 p.m.
A vote conducted on May 27 and 28 saw 90 percent of eligible employees vote to authorize a strike, and 96 percent vote “Yes” to authorize a strike if necessary.
An agreement that the union previously had with the county expired at the end of 2024, and nearly 170 days later, county representatives and the union are yet to come to an agreement on what AFCSME details as “fair wage increases and affordable health insurance”, which they state are needed in a new contract.
“AFSCME-represented employees of Champaign County are standing together as one for a fair contract. Management needs to help us avoid a strike by coming to the bargaining table with a fair wage proposal,” said AFSCME Local 900 President Cecelia Phillips. “We make Champaign County work, and if management forces us to strike, the county will not be able to carry out its responsibilities to the citizens of the county.”
According to a press release, AFSCME represents employees in every Champaign County department, including the Courthouse, Brookens Administrative Center, the Highway Department, Animal Control, the Coroner’s office, and the County Jail.