Eastern’s chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois held its final rally Tuesday before federal mediator Jerry Carmichael meets with the administrative’s negotiating team and the UPI Wednesday.

Faculty and staff chanted at the Old Main building for good faith in the present negotiations, ongoing for nine mouths.

“We want an end to the delays. Not a whole lot has happened since August,” said UPI president David Radavich. “We want the mediator to work. This really eats away at university life.”

He said the administration’s negotiating team has used a pattern of delay by withholding information, especially about the university budget, crucial to negotiations, which prompted the UPI to file an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board last Thursday.

“The budget doesn’t show everything,” he said. “For instance, it has (interim President) Lou Hencken’s salary, but it doesn’t have housing costs or entertainment costs.”

Radavich said a settlement could be reached within hours if the administration is willing to bargain in good faith, but a settlement for the new three-year faculty contract will not likely reach a settlement until January or February.

The UPI passed out flyers outlining a master plan for academic quality of six improvements the faculty would like to see at Eastern, comparable to points outlined by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

The first point is hire more faculty and reduce class size, especially if students cannot learn in an overcrowded environment, Radavich said.

“I talked to one student who said it’s not too bad if you don’t have to sit in the balcony, because then you can’t hear,” he said.

The second issue is to ensure more time for faculty workloads and student mentoring, made more difficult when faculty take on extra classes.

The other issues include reducing or eliminating consulting contracts, redirecting appropriated funds from athletics or other areas, paying salary increases to faculty and staff and reducing administrative costs.

“The wonder of budgets is you can’t really tell where the money’s going,” Radavich said.

He said because of tuition increases, the university has four percent more money overall in appropriated funds, money that could be used for civil, staff and faculty raise increases.

“We think a reasonable amount should go into the classrooms,” he said. “It is true that the state budget is in dire need. We have a differed human maintenance we should be dealing with.”

The four percent increase in appropriated funds is partially balanced by extra costs, administrator’s chief negotiator Bob Wayland said.

“I think you have to look at how much other costs have gone up also,” he said. “We have had some reductions in our budget. The money spent is in the best interests of the university.”

He said the rally does not make a large impact on negotiations.

“This is what some of the UPI leadership felt they needed to do,” Wayland said. “I think the administration certainly understands why they feel the way they feel, but it doesn’t change anything as far as Eastern’s budget.”

Some faculty do not know where administration priorities stand, said assistant English professor Angela Vietto.

“This could be a terrific university, but only if academics are a priority,” she said. “The administration — I don’t know where they stand.”

Vietto said students can see an impression faculty make by the rally.

“I wish it would have more of an impact. I hope (students) understand why we’re here,” she said.

The last UPI picket was Oct. 23. The rally Tuesday drew 30 to 50 faculty and staff.