According to NIU, negotiations are moving forward normally in the Local 963 union contract negotiation process, contrary to what union representatives have previously said.

Steve Cunningham, associate vice president of Administration and Human Resource Services, said he believes progress is being made and “both parties are negotiating in good faith,” but that a resolution will “take a while longer” to reach.

Kathy Steichen, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) staff representative, said the union is not happy with the progress that is being made.

NIU and the AFSCME Local 963, which represents about 300 building and food service workers locally and at the Lorado Taft Field Campus, have been in contract negotiations since their collective bargaining agreement expired in June.

Cunningham said the time it takes to negotiate is proportional to the number of items the bargaining parties want to discuss.

Union contract negotiations can concern changes to compensation, grievance procedures, or union rights, among other aspects of the agreement.

Cunningham said he did not want to comment on any specifics of the current negotiations.

“We focus the university resources at the bargaining table because that’s where, ultimately, the agreement will be reached,” he said.

The negotiation process costs NIU the labor lost through the union and NIU representatives taking time out of their work day to negotiate.

Cunningham said NIU tries to schedule negotiations when they have the smallest impact on operations, but it can become a time-consuming process.

“It’s productive that the parties be given time to complete that process more or less within their normal work schedules, so long as they’re making progress and negotiating in good faith and working on issues in a substantial way,” he said, “and that’s just part of the operating cost that gets absorbed with this type of thing.”

If contract negotiations are unable to be resolved between the parties, an outside mediator is brought in at no cost to the university. The mediator helps in negotiations, but the parties must ultimately reach an agreement themselves.

Mediation is different than arbitration, in which a third-party arbitrator gathers evidence and arguments from both sides and makes a final decision. Arbitration is the final step in the grievance process, the means through which union workers voice their disagreement with NIU.

A Local 963 grievance that is moving toward arbitration is the issue of extra-help employees.

Steichen said NIU is using extra-help employees, who must be hired for temporary or emergent positions, according to the State Universities Civil Service System, as long-term labor on campus.

The issue of extra-help hires is still on its way toward arbitration on Nov. 10, said Cunningham, but it is possible for NIU and Local 963 to resolve it before then.

Grievances are common but a grievance that reaches the arbitration stage is infrequent, Cunningham said.

Cunningham also said he did not want to comment on whether the extra-help hires were a violation of contract.

“Both parties have opinions on that and that’s why it’s leading to arbitration,” he said.

There are many costs associated with arbitration, in addition to the labor lost by NIU and union representatives, Cunningham said.

“Several thousand dollars could be involved,” he said.