At Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, academic professional staff held a representation election on June 22. The question on the ballot was whether academic professionals wanted the Professional Staff Association/IEA/NEA to represent them in employment issues or whether they should continue with no representation.
There were 113 votes in favor of the PSA and 166 for "no representative." However, Judi Rossiter, an academic advisor in the Journalism Department and chair of the PSA, views the result as a temporary setback.
"[W]e will continue to educate current and new staff about professional unionism and the need for real shared governance on this campus," Rossiter said in a statement after the election. "There is a need for professional staff autonomy. We cannot be true partners with this administration unless we have that independence."
PSA was established in 1998, shortly after SIU Carbondale faculty voted in favor of union representation with the Illinois Education Association.
Despite progress in finding common ground among the professional staff on the campus, a number of questions emerged only days before the election. In addition, SIU promised academic professionals a 5% pay increase this year, the same raise that the faculty and clerical unions had negotiated. Rossiter encouraged those who voted in favor of the PSA to stay with the organization as they continue the dialog with their colleagues.