The UIS professors’ strike will enter a fourth day on Monday, although it will be the first day of a work stoppage with a full slate of in-person courses scheduled to meet on campus.
University officials on Sunday reminded students that they should still show up for their in-person classes and log in to their online courses unless their professor has notified them otherwise.
While the strike involves UIS tenured and tenure-track professors, not all of them are expected to participate in the work stoppage. Additionally, other types of instructors, including non-tenure-track instructors and adjuncts, aren’t covered by the strike and are expected to still hold classes.
“If you arrive (for class) and your professor is not present, please wait at least 15 minutes before leaving,” a Sunday announcement from the University reads.
Officials also advised students:
- To continue working on assignments outlined in course syllabi.
- To continue reporting to internship and clinicals.
- That graduate assistants supervised by striking faculty should continue their work and contact their dean’s office for guidance as needed.
- To contact the Dean of Students at [email protected] with questions or concerns about their academic experience.
- To utilize support services, such as the UIS Counseling Center, if they’re feeling stress and uncertainty.
Faculty and staff were reminded that professors who strike will forfeit their pay for days not worked. Other employees are expected to continue work as usual. Withholding work out of sympathy for striking workers is against policy, according to other employee contracts.
Officials from UIS United Faculty, the union representing the striking professors, said they will begin picketing on the Quad at 9:30 a.m. Monday. U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, is expected to visit campus at 2:30 p.m. to speak with union members. Her stop at UIS comes just before a scheduled 3 p.m. appearance at nearby Lincoln Land Community College to announce a federal grant that will support LLCC’s commercial truck driver training program.
UIS officials said administrators and the union bargained for three hours on Saturday, and one unspecified agreement was reached. Another bargaining session is set for Monday.
Tenured and tenure-track professors have been working without a contract since Aug. 16, 2025. A primary sticking point in the negotiations is salary increases.
According to the University’s bargaining update page, administrators are offering the union no retroactive raises. Instead, they’re offering a 1% boost effective March 16, 2026, in the first year, and then the equivalent of the University Salary Program, raises given to all non-union workers across the U of I System, for the second and third years of a deal. For the budget year that began July 1, 2025, the Salary Program amounted to 1%.
The union’s previous four-year contract included annual raises of between 2% and 3.5%, plus additional increases to address pay inequities across ranks of professors.
The union also wants the minimum salaries for all ranks of professors to increase by about $11,000. The University is offering only about a $2,000 increase for each rank.
Amid flat enrollment growth and growing expenses, UIS has consistently racked up multimillion-dollar deficits for the last several years. Officials estimate that when the current budget year ends this summer, the annual deficit will hit $19 million.
“To sustain our mission, we must bring revenues and expenses into balance and focus on long-term fiscal stability,” a statement from the University said.
Union officials have complained that the University’s proposed salary increases are too small, especially when compared to those the growing number of UIS administrators have received.
The Union also announced Sunday it will host a pizza party this week for students to thank them for their support. Pizza will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday under the Brookens Library Overhang.
