Eastern’s chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois on Thursday filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.

The charge alleges the negotiating team for the administration has not provided information relevant to contract negotiations, and has not bargained in good faith.

Negotiations are for a new three-year faculty contract.

Some requests for information go back to early October and the administration’s negotiating team is purposely slowing down negotiations by withholding information, said UPI chapter president David Radavich.

“It just seems like there’s a pattern of delay,” he said. “In past negotiations, we’ve seen administration use (the same pattern).”

The administration team has withheld information regarding summer school, university budget, continuing education, administrator compensation and class size, Radavich said.

He said specifics for faculty salary information as part of the university budget are important for negotiations.

An administrative press release stated that talks have been constructive since August, and the reason for the unfair labor charge is part of a larger pattern of obstruction .

“During the past several bargaining cycles, we’ve seen increasing administrative delay and unwillingness to negotiate in good faith. That is not in the best interests of the university or the community,” Radavich said in the press release.

The university’s chief negotiator Bob Wayland said UPI is not bargaining in good faith. “The unfair labor practice charge is baseless,” he said in a statement. “Administrative officials have been cooperative in accommodating the UPI’s reasonable requests for relevant and available information.”

The final package offered by the administration’s negotiating team was rejected in October and the university administration is offering a bargain during a difficult time for the state, Wayland said.

“The EIU administration is bargaining in good faith and, during a troublesome budget period, is offering a generous contract package proposal,” Wayland said. “The final package offer proposed by the Administrative Negotiating Committee addressed most of the major concerns brought to the bargaining table by the UPI Negotiating Committee last spring.”

Wayland said issues the UPI introduced last spring included intellectual property rights for faculty members, patent rights for faculty members, distance education assignments and multi-year contracts for annually contracted faculty.

The UPI is also bargaining for such issues as smaller class sizes, more time reserved for faculty to do research and work with students and raises in faculty and staff salaries.

A second meeting with a federal mediator Jerry Carmichael is scheduled for this Wednesday.

The UPI has discussed the possibility of a strike and members would have to be asked twice for a strike authorization vote before a strike occurs.

Wayland said this action by the UPI is discouraging, according to the press release.

“In view of the prevalent dire economic conditions in the state of Illinois, the administration of Eastern Illinois University is offering a very generous package to the faculty represented by the UPI,” he said.