A federal mediator has been called in to aid negotiations between Eastern’s chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois and the administration.

The two groups have been negotiating a new three-year faculty contract since May. After 25 formal sessions of exchanging proposals and bargaining collectively, representatives from the university initiated a request for a mediator’s services Wednesday.

In turn, the UPI joined the request, and the two groups will split the cost of the third-party negotiator.

Bob Wayland, the university’s chief negotiator, said the university has bargained in “good faith” thus far, and differences on a number of original issues have been mutually resolved. However, several issues have not been resolved, Wayland said, and negotiations have essentially stalled.

“We have agreed that we disagree-we can’t agree,” Wayland said.

Charles Delman, UPI chief negotiator and professor of mathematics, said hiring a mediator is a positive step, but the administration has not always been cooperative with the faculty union.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to accuse them of negotiating in bad faith,” Delman said. “But they haven’t been honest in giving us explanations. “

Wayland said the mediator will help both sides to move on from the current stand-off.

“We are not trying to pull people into this,” he said. “The last thing we want is people to get upset.”

The use of mediation services, Wayland said, is a typical stage of the bargaining process when the parties have reached a bargaining impasse, or stalemate.

David Radavich, UPI president and professor of English, agreed the mediator is necessary is if either side of negotiations feels little progress has been made.

“This is the better route to go,” Radavich said.

During the last set of faculty negotiations in 1999, a federal mediator was called in to aid negotiations because the two parties could not come to an agreement on their differing issues.