Collective Bargaining Agreement
by and between the Board of Trustees on behalf of Western Illinois University and
The University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100, IFT/AFT, AFL-CIO

2004-2006 Wage Addendum

PREAMBLE
This Agreement is entered into by and between the Board of Trustees for Western Illinois University, hereinafter referred to as the Board or the Employer, and the University Professionals of Illinois, Local 4100, IFT/AFT, AFL-CIO, hereinafter referred to as the Union, on behalf of certain employees at Western Illinois University this 14 th day of November 2003, and is in recognition of the Union's status as the exclusive representative of certain employees as set forth in Addendum A of this Agreement. The basic purpose of this Agreement is the promotion of harmonious relations between the parties, the establishment of an equitable and orderly procedure for resolving differences arising out of the employment relationship and the establishment of an entire agreement covering rates of pay, hours of work, and other conditions of employment for employees in the unit described in Addendum A hereof. This preamble is a statement of intent and is not subject to Article VII, Grievance and Arbitration Procedure.

ARTICLE I, UNION RECOGNITION
Section 1
The Employer recognizes the Union as the exclusive collective bargaining agent in matters pertaining to wages, hours, and working conditions for all employees who are appointed at least 50% time or greater in a status or probationary position in the classifications certified by IELRB Case No. 95-RC-0009-S. These classifications are shown in Addendum A of this Agreement.

ARTICLE II, MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
The Union recognizes that the Board retains and reserves to itself all rights, powers, privileges, responsibilities and authority conferred upon and vested in by law, whether exercised or not, including but not limited to, the right to operate, manage, control, organize, staff and maintain the University and in all respects carry out the ordinary and customary functions of management and to adopt policies, rules, regulations and privileges in furtherance thereof.

ARTICLE III, NON-DISCRIMINATION
Section 1
Neither the Employer nor the Union shall practice discrimination against any individual covered under this Agreement on account of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, parental status, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, and/or beliefs.

Section 2
All references to "employees" in this Agreement shall be deemed to include both sexes, and whenever the male or female gender is used it shall be construed to fully include both male and female employees.

Section 3
An allegation of discrimination may be processed through either the established university procedure for investigation of such charges or the grievance procedure contained herein. Should the employee file the complaint under the university procedure he/she hereby waives any right to proceed under the terms of this Agreement.

Section 4
Neither the Employer nor the Union will violate the rights of employees regarding union membership or non-membership as set forth in Public Act 83-1014.

ARTICLE IV, UNION RIGHTS
Section 1
The Union hereby agrees that Union business will not be conducted during working hours and that only matters related to negotiations and administration of this agreement, as set forth hereafter, may qualify for excused time from work.

Bargaining unit employees may be allowed reasonable, but limited, time off during working hours upon giving advance notice to their supervisors, for the purposes of investigating grievances, attending grievance meetings, attending Union-Management conferences, attending contract negotiating sessions (limited to not more than 6 employees), meetings involving general administration of the Agreement, or meetings called by or agreed to by the employer, when an employee is entitled or required to attend such events by virtue of being an elected or appointed union representative, a witness or a grievant, and such attendance does not, in the opinion of the supervisor, create a significant interference with the operations of the employing unit.

Section 2
The Union may utilize regular campus and electronic mail for the purpose of communicating matters related to administration of this contract to the Employer and employees within the bargaining unit. Further, the Union shall be permitted to utilize the electronic bulletin board designated for UPI to communicate to their membership, provided such usage does not occur during working hours. The Union shall be permitted to post items related to the administration of this Agreement on bulletin boards within each campus building. However, such posting shall not be political or partisan in nature, nor shall it be defamatory to any individual or the university administration. Violation of this posting restriction will result in immediate suspension of all privileges contained herein.

Section 3
Should the Union request meeting space for the purpose of conducting Union related business, such request shall be made to the appropriate university office responsible for scheduling facilities. Any cost associated with utilizing university facilities shall be borne by the Union. The Union will be charged for such usage in the same manner as other groups requesting to utilize university facilities.

Section 4
The University shall notify the Union , on a quarterly basis, of the following personnel transactions which involve bargaining unit employees: new hires, promotions, demotions, reclassifications, recalls, resignations, retirements, terminations, name/address changes, transfers, layoffs, leaves of absence, returns from leave of absence.

Section 5
Bargaining unit employees may be excused from work, by their supervisors, to attend state or national affiliate conventions or executive board meetings of the Union . The foregoing excused time will be with pay and shall not exceed, in total, 10 cumulative days per year. The University may grant additional time away from work for these purposes and such time will be without pay unless the employee decides to utilize existing vacation or compensatory time. Any time away from work granted under this section will be subject to the operating needs of the employee's work unit.

Section 6
The University will provide the Union an office, desk, chairs, telephone, and access to a local area network (lan). The Union will locate the office space, that is mutually acceptable to both the Employer and the Union, and secure its use from the parties responsible for the space. The Union acknowledges that spacial needs may require the office space to be relinquished at any time, with the Union responsible for locating a subsequent office space,consistent with the provisions of this section. The Union will be responsible for all expenses associated with maintaining the office including, but not limited to, secretarial service, office supplies, and telecommunication charges.

ARTICLE V, UNION DUES AND FAIR SHARE DEDUCTION
Section 1
The Employer will cause to be deducted union membership dues, in an amount and frequency established by the Union and certified in writing by the Union's treasurer, no less than 45 days prior to the effective date of the deduction, to the Director of Human Resources, from the salary of a bargaining unit member who gives the Employer authorization to make such deduction. Dues deducted will be remitted, by the State Comptroller or other wage paying authority, to the Union treasurer or other official of the Union designated in writing by the Union . This remittance shall include a listing of bargaining unit employees from whom dues were deducted, as well as the amount deducted.

Section 2
The provisions of this Section shall become effective, and remain in effect for the duration of the agreement, at such time as the Union demonstrates to the designated University representative that fifty-one percent (51%) of the bargaining unit members have joined the Union based on written payroll dues deductions authorizations filed with the Employer.

Upon this section taking effect, the Union shall certify the amount to be collected from each bargaining unit employee. This amount shall not, in any event, exceed the amount of dues uniformly required of members of the Union .

The Union and the University shall comply with the rules of the Labor Board concerning notice, objections, and related matters contained in its fair share rules.

The fair share fee deductions shall commence with the first pay period starting forty-five (45) calendar days after the Union certifies to the Employer the amount of fair share dues, or thirty (30) calendar days after the date of original employment for a new employee, whichever is later. Each bargaining unit member who is not a member of the Union shall be required to pay the fair share fee. The fair share fee shall be deducted from the earnings of the non-member employees pursuant to the usual and customary payroll deduction procedures of the Employer and paid to the Union . This remittance shall include a listing of bargaining unit employees from whom fair share fees were deducted, as well as the amount deducted.

Section 3
Any authorization to withhold union dues from the salary of a bargaining unit employee shall terminate and such withholding cease at a time upon the occurrence of any of the following events: (a) termination of employment; (b) written notice by the bargaining unit employee to the employer of his/her desire for cancellation of the authorization; (c) expiration of the time during which such withholding was authorized; or (d) in the event of an illegal work stoppage in violation of this Agreement. In addition items (a), (c), and (d) of this section shall apply to Section 2 of this Article.

Section 4
The Employer shall be under no obligation to make any duesor fair share deduction, either in whole or in part, from an employee's pay should the employee not have a sufficient amount of pay remaining after deduction of all other legal or authorized deductions. Further, nothing in this article shall require the Employer to cause to be deducted any other union assessments, fines or penalties.

Section 5
The Union shall and does indemnify, defend, and hold the Employer, its officials, agents, employees or representatives harmless against any claim, demand, suit, or any form of liability (monetary or otherwise), including attorney's fees and costs arising from the deduction of union duesor fair share established by the Union and communicated to the Employer in compliance with this Article.

ARTICLE VI, UNION-MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
Section 1
The Union and the Employer mutually agree that in the interest of efficient management and harmonious union relations, it is desirable that meetings between the parties be held to discuss issues of mutual interest. To that end, the parties agree to hold Union-Management conferences when requested by either party. The meeting may be attended by no more than 2 persons representing each party. In order to expedite those discussions, the party requesting the meeting should provide an agenda of items to be discussed no later than one week prior to the agreed to meeting date. In regard to discussion items that require follow-up action, the parties should attempt to respond in a timely manner subsequent to the meeting. With this understanding, the parties further agree to limit the general topics of discussion to:

a. Discussions of the implementation and general administration of this Agreement.
b. A sharing of general information of interest to the parties.

Section 2
The parties further agree that there will be no discussion of grievances "in process" during these Union-Management conferences. Further, the parties agree that this is not a proper forum for negotiations and to that end will not discuss issues properly subject to negotiations and for the purpose of altering any of the terms of this Agreement.

Section 3
This formalized setting is not intended to discourage, in any way, informal disucssions between the parties related to issues which may arise on an irregular basis and which need immediate attention by the parties.

ARTICLE VII, GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
Section 1. Purpose.
The purpose of the grievance procedure is to secure, at the lowest possible level, a solution to the problems of the parties. Both parties shall make an effort to resolve the grievance in the most expeditious, cooperative and harmonious manner possible.

Section 2. Grievance.
A. A "grievance" is hereby defined to be any dispute, controversy or difference of opinion between the Employer and the Union or any employee covered by this Agreement regarding the application, meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. Employees who are serving an initial probationary period shall be excluded from filing grievances over a demotion or discharge. A working day shall be defined as Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.

B. Grievances may be processed by the Union on behalf of an employee or itself, or may be filed by an employee at Step 1 of this procedure. Either party may have the grievant present at any step of the grievance procedure, and the employee is entitled to a Union representative at each and every step of the grievance procedure.

C. All step 2 grievances shall be submitted on the form agreed to by the parties.

D. The parties agree that should a status employee exercise rights of appeal provided in the State Universities Merit Board Rules regarding discharge, classification, demotion, or other appealable matters, he/she will be deemed to have waived his/her right to file a grievance through this procedure.

Section 3. Grievance Steps.
Step 1. The employee and/or the Union shall orally raise the grievance with the employee's supervisor who is outside the bargaining unit. All grievances must be presented no later than ten (10) working days from the date the grievant became aware, or reasonably should have been aware, of the occurrence giving rise to the grievance. The supervisor shall then make a reasonable effort to adjust the matter and shall respond orally within ten (10) working days.

Step 2. If a grievance is not resolved at Step 1, it shall be reduced to writing and the written grievance shall be presented by the Union to the department head within ten (10) working days after the date upon which the supervisor's reply was given or due, whichever is earliest. In cases where the supervisor and department head is the same person, the step 2 grievance may be initiated at the level of the department head's supervisor by mutual agreement between the department head and the Union .The written grievance shall contain a statement of the grievant's complaint, the section(s) of the Agreement allegedly violated, the date of the alleged violation and the relief sought. The form shall be signed and dated by the grievant.

The department head shall review the grievance and may conduct a meeting, if appropriate, and shall respond in writing within ten (10) working days.

Step 3. If a grievance is not resolved at Step 2, the written grievance shall be presented to the University Director of Human Resources within ten (10) working days after the date the Step 2 response is given or due, whichever is earliest. The Director of Human Resources or his/her designee and a local Union representative shall meet within ten (10) working days. The Director of Human Resources shall respond in writing within ten (10) working days following the conclusion of the meeting.

Section 4. Arbitration.
A. If the Union is not satisfied with the Step 3 response, the written grievance may be referred to arbitration by so notifying the Director of Human Resources in writing within ten (10) working days after the receipt of the decision. The Director or his/her designee and the Union shall attempt to agree upon an arbitrator, but if they are unable to do so within fifteen (15) working days of the written notice to arbitrate, the parties shall jointly request the American Arbitration Association to submit a panel of five (5) arbitrators. The parties shall alternately strike the name of one (1) arbitrator, the Union and the Employer taking turns as to the first strike. The remaining person shall be the arbitrator who shall be notified of his/her selection by a joint letter from both parties requesting that a date and time for the hearing be established subject to the reasonable availability of the parties. All hearings shall take place in the City of Macomb, Illinois, unless otherwise mutually agreed.

B. Both parties agree to attempt to arrive at a joint stipulation of the facts and issues as outlined to be submitted to the arbitrator. The Employer or the Union shall have the right to request the arbitrator to require the presence of witnesses and/or documents. Each party shall bear the expense of its own witnesses who are not employees of the Employer. The Employer shall not be obligated for payment of employees' travel expenses and/or time spent outside of the employees' normal working hours.

Questions of arbitrability shall be decided by the arbitrator. The arbitrator shall make a preliminary determination on the question of arbitrability. Once a determination is made that the matter is arbitrable, or if such preliminary determination cannot be reasonably made, the arbitrator shall then proceed to determine the merits of the grievance. Board of Trustees Regulations and By-laws, University rules and policies, laws of the State of Illinois and rules and regulations of administrative agencies are not subject to arbitration. The arbitrator shall have no authority to amend, modify, nullify, ignore, add to or subtract from the provisions of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall submit a written decision to the parties within thirty (30) working days of the close of the hearing or the submission of briefs, whichever is later, unless the parties agree to an extension.

The decision and award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the Employer, the Union and the employee or employees involved.

The expenses and fees of the arbitrator and the cost of the hearing room shall be borne equally by the parties.

If either party desires a verbatim record of the proceedings, it may cause such a record to be made, providing it pays for the record and makes a copy available without charge to the arbitrator. If the other party desires a copy, it shall pay for the cost of the copy.

Section 5.
A. Grievances may be withdrawn at any step of the Grievance Procedure without prejudice. Grievances not appealed within the designated time limits will be treated as withdrawn grievances.

B. The time limits at any step or for any hearing may be extended by written mutual agreement of the parties involved at that particular step.

C. Grievances may be filed at any step of the Grievance Procedure by mutual agreement of the parties at that step.

D. Grievances not responded to by the Employer within the prescribed time limits shall be automatically advanced to the next step of the Grievance Procedure, except arbitration.

E. A grievance settled prior to arbitration shall be binding only as to that particular grievance and shall not be precedent setting, unless the parties agree otherwise.

ARTICLE VIII, DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Section 1.
The University shall follow the tenets of corrective and progressive discipline to the extent practicable and related to the offense in question. Disciplinary action shall be taken for cause and will include the following:

a. Oral warning
b. Written reprimand
c. Suspension
d. Discharge and/or suspension pending discharge

Section 2.
Oral warnings shall be issued by the employee's supervisor and may be documented in the personnel file describing the date, time and general topic to which the oral reprimand is related. Employees shall be given a copy of the documentation sent to the personnel file.

Section 3.
An employee may have a Union representative present at a disciplinary meeting provided he/she requests such representation and securing that representation does not result in undue delay in issuance of the disciplinary action. In addition, an employee may have a Union representative present during an investigatory interview if he/she is the subject of the investigation and the employee has a reasonable belief that disciplinary action may be forthcoming. Should an investigation result in no disciplinary action being taken, the employee shall be advised of that decision by the University.

Section 4.
In the event disciplinary action is taken against an employee other than an oral reprimand, suspension pending discharge or discharge, the University shall furnish a written statement of the reasons therefor to the employee and to the Union. Should the University issue a suspension pending discharge or discharge action against a bargaining unit employee the Union will be provided copies of the documents necessary to take such action as required by the State Universities Civil Service System Merit Board.

Section 5.
A written reprimand issued to a bargaining unit employee for tardiness or absenteeism may be removed from the employee's personnel file provided the employee makes such a request and at least one (1) year has passed since the date of issuance of the last disciplinary action for the same or similar offense.

ARTICLE IX, NO STRIKE
Section 1.
During the life of this Agreement or any extension thereof, neither the Union nor any of its officers, agents, or representatives shall directly or indirectly instigate, promote, cause, participate in or recognize, nor authorize employees to instigate, promote, cause, participate in or recognize any strike, job action, work stoppage, slowdown, interruption of work, picket line, secondary boycott, or other interference of any kind with operations. The Union shall fully support the Employer and the University in maintaining operations. The Union acknowledges the Employer has the right to seek injunctive relief in the event the Employer feels the Union has violated this Article.

Section 2.
The Employer will not lockout any bargaining unit member during the term of this Agreement as a result of a labor dispute with the Union .

ARTICLE X, PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Each bargaining unit member will be evaluated three (3) times during his/her probationary period. Each bargaining unit employee, thereafter, shall have his/her performance evaluated once each calendar year.

An employee evaluation will normally be conducted by the first level of supervision, outside the bargaining unit, and will occur at times prescribed by the University. A supervisor may seek input from others in determining the employee's performance during the time period covered by the evaluation and is encouraged to limit the access of bargaining unit members to the evaluation of any other bargaining unit employee.

The bargaining unit employee shall receive a copy of the final, signed performance evaluation from his/her supervisor. Performance evaluations and their content, except for procedural matters related to the completion of the evaluation, shall not be subject to the Grievance Procedure contained within this Agreement.

ARTICLE XI, COMPENSABLE BENEFITS AND LEAVES
The employees in the bargaining unit shall be entitled to the specific benefits as provided to civil service employees in their respective category by Board of Trustees Regulations in effect July 1, 2003 . These benefits will not be modified and/or revised during the life of the agreement except as indicated below.

The benefits described in these Regulations shall be subject to applicable State and Federal laws and shall be automatically terminated or modified to maintain congruence with such laws or any repeal or amendment thereof.

ARICLE XII, BENEFIT IMPLEMENTATION
Section1.
Sick leave may be used in increments of no less than one-tenth (1/10) of an hour.

Section 2.
Any financial obligation the employee may have to the University can be offset at the time of separation by withholding an amount equal to that indebtedness from any vacation or sick leave payout provided by Statute.

Section 3.
The parties agree that should the State Legislature amend, alter, or abolish the Statute which provides for the payout of accumulated sick leave, the Employer will be free to take whatever action is necessary to comply with the amendment, alteration or abolition of that Statute.

Section 4.
Should the University President, or his/her designee, order the University closed consistent with the provisions of the Policy on Limiting University Operations Because of Emergency Conditions, bargaining unit employees who are ordered and who do work during that period of time shall be compensated at one and one-half (1 ½) times their base rate of pay for actual hours worked.

Section 5.
Bargaining unit employees shall be eligible for the extended sick leave benefit described in "Regulations" after completing two (2) years of employment at the University.

Section 6.
Supervisors are encouraged to respond in an expeditious manner to requests from bargaining unit employees to utilize leave.

ARTICLE XIII, HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE, PENSIONS AND DISABILITY
Section 1.
During the terms of this Agreement, health and life insurance programs shall be provided to all eligible employees covered by this Agreement in accordance with Illinois State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, 5 ILCS 375 et.seq. and as amended from time to time. The parties agree to accept the terms and conditions of life and health programs as provided by the Department of Central Management Services at a statewide level and which are intended to apply to state universities.

Section 2.
During the term of this Agreement, retirement, death, and disability benefits shall be provided to all eligible employees covered by this Agreement in accordance with 40 ILCS 5/15, Pensions.

Section 3.
During the term of this Agreement, statutory benefits under Workers' Compensation shall be provided to all eligible employees covered by this Agreement in accordance with 820 ILCS 305, Workers' Compensation Act, and 820 ILCS 310, Workers' Occupational Disease Act.

Section 4.
During the term of this Agreement, related optional benefits (e.g., U.S. Savings Bonds, supplemental health and life insurance, tax-sheltered annuities) available to other eligible university employees, shall be available to eligible employees covered by this Agreement in accordance with any applicable Board policies and guidelines.

ARTICLE XIV, HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME
Section 1.
A. The basic work day for FLSA nonexempt employees shall consist of seven and one-half (7 ½) consecutive hours and the basic full time work week for nonexempt employees shall consist of five (5) consecutive work days with two (2) days off.

B. The full time effort required of employees who are exempted from the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act shall be a flexible work week averaging thirty-seven and one-half (37.5) hours per week. Because of the foregoing, FLSA exempt employees are hereby excluded from coverage under items contained in this Article, except Section 7.

Section 2.
A. The work day shall be broken at the approximate mid-point by an unpaid meal period of no less than thirty (30) minutes nor more than one (1) hour at times established by the University.

B. Employees' work schedules shall provide for a fifteen (15) minute paid rest period during each half of their shift. Employees who are required and do work overtime in excess of four (4) hours within a work day shall receive an additional twenty (20) minute rest period during that overtime period.

C. Rest periods cannot be accumulated and/or used for the purpose of late arrival, early departure, or extensions of meal periods.

Section 3.
Employees who work in excess of seven and one-half (7 ½) hours per day (where applicable eight (8) hours per day) or in excess of thirty-seven and one-half (37 ½) hours per week (where applicable forty (40) hours per week) shall be compensated at one and one-half (1 ½) times their base hourly rate for those hours worked in excess, with the exception that overtime worked on the seventh consecutive day within the work week shall be compensated at double time.

Overtime shall be paid in cash or the employee will receive compensatory time, at the Employer's discretion. An employee may accumulate twenty-two and one-half (22 ½) hours of compensatory time.

Section 4.
A flexible hour schedule is one that allows an employee to alter his/her normal starting and quitting time on a daily basis in order to accommodate personal needs. An employee may request a flexible hour schedule of his/her supervisor stating the personal need for the request and providing the approximate length of time the schedule will be needed. The supervisor will evaluate the request and determine whether a schedule alteration can be granted taking into consideration the operating needs of the unit.

Section 5.
Current practices regarding "make-up" time that exist within individual units can continue to exist provided a supervisor's approval will first take into consideration the operating needs of the unit. The parties agree that any "make-up" time allowed and performed will not obligate the employer to any overtime compensation either on a daily or weekly basis.

Section 6.
A bargining unit employee who is called back to work after completing a regular work day and who has left the University will receive a minimum of two (2) hours pay at the applicable rate. A bargaining unit employee who is called in to work on one of his/her regular days off shall receive a minimum of four (4) hours pay at the applicable rate.

Section 7.
Bargaining unit employees may absent themselves from work, without resort to using accumulated benefit or compensatory time and with full pay, during the work days which occur during the period December 26 through December 31 of each calendar year. The parties agree that the intent of this provision is to provide employees paid leave on days, which are not holidays declared by the University, during that specific period of time. Employees shall be eligible for this provision provided they would otherwise normally qualify for holiday pay both before and after the aforementioned work days. Should an employee be required to work during this period he/she shall be granted equivalent time off as soon as possible.

Section 8.
Absent an emergency situation, any bargaining unit employee who is requested by supervisory personnel to change the shift/scheduled hours of work shall be given notification prior to the change taking affect.

An employee shall receive at least four (4) calendar days advance notice of any temporary schedule change. Temporary schedule changes should not normally exceed thirty (30) calendar days.

An employee shall receive at least fourteen (14) calendar days advance notice of any permanent schedule change.

ARTICLE XV, HEALTH AND SAFETY
Section 1.
The parties to this Agreement desire a clean, safe and healthy working environment. To that end, both parties will cooperate in creating such an environment. The Employer will provide information related to any unsafe or unhealthy work condition to the Union , when it becomes aware of such conditions. The Union and/or an employee will advise the University of any perceived unsafe or unhealthy working condition of which they become aware.

Section 2.
When an employee reports a need for ergonomic adjustment in work-site equipment, the supervisor will explore and may provide reasonable additions or substitutions in equipment.

Section 3.
Should the University President, or his/her designee, invoke the Policy on Limiting University Operations Because of Emergency Conditions, supervisors are encouraged to provide their full cooperation to bargaining unit employees, consistent with the provisions of this policy.

ARTICLE XVI, CONTRACTING
The Union shall receive prior notification of work contracted out when that contracting would result in bargaining unit employees being subject to lay off. the notification shall be given at least as early as the employee is notified. Upon request, the Employer will meet with the Union to clarify the reasons for the decision and employee options.

ARTICLE XVII, MISCELLANEOUS
Section 1.
A bargaining unit employee may inspect his/her personnel record maintained by the Department of Human Resources, in the presence of an employee of that department. An employee may request a copy of material contained therein, which shall be provided at no cost. An employee may attach a statement of explanation to any material in their personnel file, except performance evaluations.

Section 2.
A. The Director of Human Resources will communicate in writing to each bargaining unit employee, once every 6 months, regarding the University testing program. That communication shall contain a listing of classifications which are scheduled for testing on a recurring basis; a listing of classifications for which a test is on exam notification; a statement inviting any bargaining unit employee to contact that office to determine those classifications, based on their qualifications and experience, for which the employee is eligible to test or be placed on the exam notification. Employees may, at any time, submit to the Department of Human Resources an updated application.

B. Should the University determine to utilize a civil service classification which has not been previously used on the campus, it shall post a notice of the upcoming vacancy for a period of ten (10) calendar days. This posting shall take place in buildings in which bargaining unit employees are employed and, in addition, by electronic mail.

Section 3.
A. When the Department of Human Resources receives a request for audit from a bargaining unit employee, job description materials will be forwarded to the employee. The employee shall complete the required material and present that material to his/her supervisor, with a copy provided to the Department of Human Resources. The employee and the supervisor shall act in an expeditious manner in completing these materials. Should the completed materials not be received by the Department of Human Resources within fifteen (15) working days of the receipt of job description materials, the employee shall be informed the previously requested materials must be received by Human Resources within five (5) additional working days, or the request will be considered withdrawn and no further action will be taken.A bargaining unit employee shall not be permitted to request, nor will the Department of Human Resources be obligated to conduct, an audit of any position more than once in any twelve (12) month period. Any request for audit withdrawn due to a delay in the required materials shall be open for resubmission twice during the 12-month restriction on the request for audits.

B. Once the audit process is complete, a written decision will be issued. Should the employee disagree with the result he/she may file an appeal with the Department of Human Resources within three (3) working days following receipt of the decision.

C. Should a position be reclassified resulting in the employee receiving a higher rate of pay, the employee will be eligible for the higher rate on the date he/she qualifies by examination, but no earlier than the date the employee's request for audit was received by the Department of Human Resources.

Section 4.
In the event the University is informed by the Merit Board of a proposed change to an existing civil service rule or to a class specification, which is within the bargaining unit, the University will inform the local Union President of the contemplated changes.

Section 5.
The Department of Human Resources will be responsible for the cost of producing the Employee Handbook and shall distribute the handbook to all new bargaining unit employees, along with a copy of this collective bargaining agreement. The Union shall be responsible for reproducing copies of this collective bargaining agreement and shall supply the Department of Human Resources with sufficient copies to be provided to new bargaining unit employees.

Section 6.
Any action or responsibility assigned to an official or representative of the Board, President, University or the Union may be performed by a designee of such official or representative.

Section 7.
The Department of Human Resources shall develop a list of resource materials that newly hired or promoted/reassigned individuals, who will be supervising employees covered by this collective bargaining agreement, may need at their disposal. This list shall be provided to newly hiredindividuals during their initial benefits orientation. Human Resources will supply the list to promoted/ reassigned individuals upon being notified of the new supervisory duties.

ARTICLE XVIII, SAVINGS CLAUSE
Section 1.
In the event any Article, Section or portion of this Agreement should be held invalid and unenforceable by virtue of legislative action or by any board, agency or court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall apply only to the specific Article, Section or portion thereof so affected and the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 2.
No later than thirty (30) days after a written request to bargain, negotiations regarding a substitute provision(s) for the invalidated provision(s) shall commence. The request to bargain must be made within thirty (30) days of the date of the invalidating action.

ARTICLE XIX, ENTIRE AGREEMENT
Section 1.
The Agreement shall not supersede: applicable Federal and State laws and those laws as they may be amended from time to time; Statutes and Rules of the State Universities Civil Service System of Illinois and those Statutes and Rules as they may be amended from time to time; or the Statute of the State Universities Retirement System and as it may be amended from time to time.

Section 2.
This Agreement constitutes the complete and entire Agreement between the parties and concludes collective bargaining between the parties for its term. This Agreement supersedes and cancels all prior practices and agreements, whether written or oral, which conflict with the express terms of this Agreement. The parties acknowledge that during the negotiations which resulted in this Agreement, each had the unlimited right and opportunity to make demands and proposals with respect to any subject or matter not removed by law or an Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board Regulation from the area of collective bargaining, and that the understanding and agreements arrived at by the parties after the exercise of that right and opportunity are set forth in this Agreement .

ARTICLE XX, TERMINATION
Section 1.
This Agreement shall be effective on the date the "Board" ratifies this agreement and remain in full force and effect until June 30, 2006 . It shall be automatically renewed from month to month thereafter unless either party notifies the other in writing by certified mail, or hand delivery, at least sixty (60) calendar days prior to the termination date that it desires to modify this Agreement. The notice shall be considered as given as of the date shown on the postmark, or the date of hand delivery in which case a written, dated receipt shall be made. Notwithstanding any provision of this Article or Agreement to the contrary, this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect after any expiration date while negotiations or resolution of impasse procedures are continuing for a new Agreement, or part thereof, between the parties. In the event that either party desires to terminate this Agreement, written notice must be given to the other party no later than ten (10) days prior to the desired termination date.

ADDENDUM A

UNIT B
Admissions/Records Officer I, II, III
Audio-Visual Aids Technician I, II, III
Auditorium Technical Director
Auxiliary Computer Operation Supervisor
Broadcast Engineer
Assistant Chief Broadcasting Engineer
Chief Broadcasting Engineer
Broadcasting Program Assistant
Equipment Attendant
Farmer
Home Economics Staff Assistant I, II
Laboratory Animal Care Technician I, II
Microcomputer Support Specialist I, II, III
Photographer I, II, III
Radio Station Production Supervisor
Television Production Coordinator
Training Assistant

Exclusions

All supervisory, managerial and confidential employees and defined by the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act and including all, short term or extra help employees.

2004-2006

WAGE ADDENDUM

Section 1.
Effective July 1, 2003 , the ranges for each bargaining unit classification shall be increased by 2.5%. Compensation guidelines in existence on the effective date of this Agreement shall continue.

Section 2.
Effective July 1, 2003 , bargaining unit employees shall be granted an 2.5% increase in base pay, calculated on their June 30, 2003 base pay.

Section 3.
When an employee is promoted or reclassified to a position in a higher pay grade they shall receive a 10% upward adjustment in base pay or be advanced to the minimum of the range, whichever is greater.

Section 4.
A temporary upgrade shall be defined as follows: an employee is assigned by supervisory personnel and does perform a majority of the duties of a higher paid classification in the normal course of his/her daily work. An employee must meet all the requirements of Civil Service Rule 250.100 (b.) in order to qualify for a temporary assignment. When a temporary assignment is made consistent with the terms of this section, the employee shall receive a 10% increase in base pay not to exceed the maximum for the range or be placed at the minimum for the higher pay grade, whichever is greater, for the duration of the assignment.

Section 5.
Pursuant to Public Act 92-0599 and subsequently upon the employee’s request, unused sick leave that can be used for sick leave buy-out will be paid at the current rate of earnings as part of the earnings from the University during a period of up to two years of employment prior to retirement, subject to the 20% limitation and the guidelines set by SURS. The employee must submit an irrevocable “election to retire” prior to receiving this benefit. In the event that Act 92-0599 is repealed or amended, unused sick leave that can be used for sick leave buy-out will not be paid as part of earnings from the university during the period of up to two years of employment prior to retirement, unless a new agreement allowing such a payment is negotiated by the University and UPI (Civil Service). Employees already receiving the benefit at the time of repeal or amendment of ACT 92-0599 will continue to do so.

Section 6.
The parties agree to reopen this Agreement for the negotiation of wages on or before July 1, of each subsequent year of this agreement.

LETTER OF AGREEMENT 1

The parties to this Agreement jointly create a salary task force which shall have as its mission:

a.) Identifying an appropriate market for comparison of bargaining unit salaries.
b.) Identifying classifications in the unit and how they compare to the stated market.
c.) Presenting this information to each bargaining team prior to each salary re-opener stated within this Agreement.

This task force will be composed of 2 employees appointed by the Union and 2 employees appointed by the Director of Human Resources and shall commence meeting no later than February 1. The task force shall be empowered to operate in a fashion appropriate to the accumulation of necessary information and consistent with its stated mission.

LETTER OF AGREEMENT 2

The parties to this Agreement shall attempt to jointly provide a minimum of one training session per academic semester. These training sessions shall consist of topics mutually beneficial to both parties and will be open to the entire campus community, with the first to be scheduled the academic semester following Union ratification and Board approval of this agreement.

SIDE LETTER

The Employer and the Union recognize that an Employee Assistance Program can be valuable to the employees in addressing individual concerns. The Employer and the Union hereby declare their unqualified support and pledge to work cooperatively with any Employee Assistance Program provided by the Employer.

ACCEPTANCE BY PARTIES

We hereby state the foregoing instrument consisting of pages numbered one (1) through thirty-five (35) inclusive is mutually acceptable to us, and we covenant to maintain it and obey its provisions during the period of its effectiveness.

Signed by...

G. Stuart Clauson, Human Resources, Western Illinois University
Alvin Goldfarb, President, Western Illinois University
Richard Sample, Chapter President, Chief Negotiator, University Professionals of Illinois
Sue Kaufman, President, UPI, Local 4100, IFT/AFT, AFL-CIO
Fran Hainline, Bargaining Team, UPI