Illinois civil service union employees from nine universities, including NIU, might lose service bonus points if a proposal to eliminate the points is approved this month by the University Merit Board (UMB).

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rule (JCAR) Tuesday voted against the UMB’s proposal to eliminate service bonus points for union employees.

“We (JCAR) feel the committee (UMB) lacked adequate justification in their decision to eliminate the service bonus points,” said Steve Rotello, deputy director for the JCAR.

Service bonus points allow employees to earn up to 10 credits, one credit per year, beginning with the second year of service. The points then can be added to promotional test scores, giving current employees an advantage.

The union, which represents about 1,700 Illinois university civil service employees, filed unfair labor practice charges against the UMB in October, 1986, claiming that the board eliminated the service bonus points without negotiating and without listing the item on the agenda.

owever, Clara Fitzpatrick, UMB representative for the Board of Regents, said the decision to eliminate the points was discussed as a topic under the director’s items, which do not have to be specifically named.

Fitzpatrick was the only representative to vote against the decision because she “did not know what impact the elimination would have on the universities, and did not know how the employees from each institution felt about the elimination.”

Edward Ranthun, a representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (ASFCME), said ASFCME plans to ask the UMB to voluntarily reverse its actions.

Another issue brought about by the decision deals with women’s promotions, said ASFCME representative Hank Scheff. “Women have been placed into building service worker jobs from clerical positions, which is a substantial raise in pay, by using service bonus points,” he said.

The union testified before the UMB in October on behalf of women employees from four Illinois campuses—Eastern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, Northeastern Illinois University and the University of Illinois—and urged the board to reverse its proposal.

The UMB now has 90 days to respond to the objection. If the committee decides to ignore the JCAR’s advisement and approve the proposal, the committee then has the power to take legislative action.

The decision will be challenged during the regular quarterly meeting of the union scheduled to be held at U of I at Champaign on Jan. 27.