CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Building and Food Service workers are rallying a strike in front of the Illini Union in protest of their contracts.
The Campus Labor Coalition are organizing a rally in support of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 and Food Service and Building Service workers and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) workers on the Main Quad. More than 700 Food Service and Building Service workers are represented by SEIU73, a labor union, and many are predicted to be participating in the protest in favor of fair wages.
“With the higher demand and what’s happening right now on campus, they have insulted us with asking us to do more for less pay,” said Teresa Deaville, Building Service Worker and Union Steward of SEIU.
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The strike is scheduled to be taking place at 12p.m. on Friday, September 13. With a record 97,772 students enrolled at UIUC, workers feel that their workload has increased. Service workers have complained about their jobs being severely understaffed and this making working conditions extremely unsafe. Their complaints also cover the rising cost of inflation and increasing parking costs for workers.
“Our bargaining team is prepared to negotiate daily in order to reach an equitable agreement prior to the current contracts ending on August 31,” said Joseph Richert, SEIU Local 73 Secretary-Treasurer.