By Joe Ragusa
NORMAL – Faculty at Heartland Community College are a step closer to going on strike.
The Heartland Faculty Association said in a statement that its members voted to file a 10-day notice on Friday with the college’s administration and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. No official strike date has been set.
Faculty at the college have been working without a contract since June 30.
In the statement, union vice president Glen Bush criticized the college for hiring more full-time administrators than any other college in the area.
The union and administrators are scheduled to meet with a mediator for the second time on Friday.
Heartland Faculty Association vice president Jane Camp said Heartland’s last offer was a one percent raise this year and another one percent raise next year, but that was woefully inadequate compared to the rising cost of health care.
Camp said the union has made a “substantial” concession on its previous demand for a 4.5 percent wage increase. She declined to say what the union is seeking now.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at joe.ragusa@cumulus.com.
