Chicago State University, Local 73 Reach Tentative Agreement

Chicago State University Building Service Workers have reached a tentative agreement with the university.

The new agreement will give workers an 8.75% pay increase across the board with retro pay and premium pay for second shift and weekend work. The agreement also includes language regarding workload to address staffing issues and language regarding deep cleaning defines the work performed by contractors and protects the work performed by building service workers.

CSU members engaged in a fight for the contract they deserve. Members wore buttons on campus and invited their colleagues to attend bargaining sessions during their work breaks. This collective action forced management to hear workers’ concerns about staffing, workload, and subcontractors.

“I am very proud of what we accomplished during bargaining. In previous years, management would try to reject all our proposals and hope that we would give up. Through taking action, we made real progress in our contract,” said Ken Marshall, steward and bargaining committee member.