THE
alestle
WSIE finalist in St. Louis Magazine’s A-List
Kids of Madison County SIUE Athletics director immersed in ideals welcomes three new of Historic Leclaire faculty, promotes two
PAGE 2
PAGE 4
PAGE 8
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Wednesday, July 26, 2023 Vol. 76 No. 34
the student voice since 1960
Clerical workers protest negotiation treatment at Board of Trustees meeting in Springfield BRUCE DARNELL managing editor
After a year of not having a contract, AFSCME Local 2887 organized a protest against their treatment during contract negotiations. The clerical staff gathered in an SIU medical school auditorium, where the meeting was taking place. Among those present were SIUE’s Chancellor Minor and Lauren Harris, student government trustee, as well as SIU Carbondale’s Chancellor Austin Lane. In the meeting, performance bonuses were given to some Board of Trustees members, with some reaching as high as the six-figure range. Also during the meeting, compliments were given to Minor for his performance over the last year in bringing the university back up from the difficult position it’s been in for the past few years. Dan Mahony, president of the SIU system, listed some of Minor’s accomplishments over the past year. “You came aboard under very difficult circumstances,” Mahony said. “You’ve been able to reduce that budget [$18 million deficit] by 60 percent in your first year. This was an accomplishment especially in the face of financial constraints throughout education.” Mahony also mentioned the recent contract negotiations between SIUE and the Faculty Association and their recent
ratification, during which he made note of the clerical workers in the audience. Lastly, Mahony complimented Minor on increasing diversity of staff, faculty and students on campus, as well as for hosting the successful One Day, One SIUE event last spring. Minor then began his presentation, which went over some of the finer details involving enrollment and demographics within the past year. After the presentations, the floor was open to guest speakers, the first of whom was Amy Bodenstab, vice president of AFSCME Local 2887. “SIUE received over $50 million in COVID funding. $4.5 million of that was poured into our budget deficit,” Bodenstab said. “Despite our repeated requests that our workers on campus during lockdown receive something for risking their lives, we got nothing.” Bodenstab then went on to list some of the grievances the clerical workers had with the university, such as less sick time and bereavement time than others on campus. Other issues included not receiving industry standard pay nor receiving proper increases, as well as not having a decision maker — as in someone in a position of power, such as Minor — from the university at negotiations. Bodenstab then also critiqued the performance bonuses being given to Board members. “There is always money for see PROTEST on page 2
Chancellor James Minor and Interim Vice Chancellor Bill Retzlaff speak with AFSCME Local 2887 Vice President Amy Bodenstab after the Board of Trustees meeting in Springfield and accompanying AFSCME protest. | Bruce Darnell / The Alestle
Fuller Dome HVAC failing, director issues emergency statement
Members of AFSCME Local 2887 gather in protest in Springfield, Illinois, regarding their treatment during union negotiations. | Bruce Darnell / The Alestle
follow the alestle
@alestlelive
@TheAlestle
@Online Editor Alestle
On July 14, Benjamin Lowder, director of the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability, issued an “emergency alert” and created a GoFundMe in an effort to raise funds for a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, or HVAC, for the Fuller Dome. Lowder said in the GoFundMe that the Dome’s HVAC system would not make it through another season. In a previous Alestle article about an exhibit featuring artifacts from Buckminster Fuller’s life, board member Tom Kinsella
@thealestle
@thealestle
said the Center was planning on initiating a “greening campaign” in order to make the building a carbon-neutral structure. Lowder said in the GoFundMe that this could be a stepping stone towards that goal. “We look at this building not so much as a museum piece to honor Buckminster Fuller, but more as a living organism, and we try to treat it the way we think he would’ve treated it,” Lowder said. Since July 14, the GoFundMe has raised nearly $11,000 of its $27,000 goal.
See you on the Internet!