Members of the Eastern chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois circled the stairs of Booth Library Wednesday with noisemakers and signs in a rally to support the UPI negotiating team in Wednesday’s faculty contract negotiations with the administration.

Wednesday was the first negotiation meeting with the federally contracted mediator since Sept. 6.

Two rallies were held Wednesday in support of UPI, one at noon during the lunch hour and the other at 2:30 p.m. to welcome the negotiating team and mediator as they arrived at the library for the 3 p.m. meeting.

“Thanks so much for your support,” said Carol Jean Dudley, member of the UPI negotiating team. She stopped to speak to the rally before entering the library for negotiations. “Stay out here, and stay with us,” she said.

About 50 people came to support UPI with signs that read, “Give us a ‘1st choice’ contract,” and “Contract now.”

The crowd chanted sayings like, “What do we want? Contracts! When do we want it? Now!” Between the chants, speakers stood at the top of the staircase of the library to speak to the crowd.

“About every decade or so, the administration decides the best way to deal with us is to dig in their heals and not give an inch,” said UPI member Mary Maddox during her speech. “I think they do that because they doubt our resolve.”

Ed Wehrle, a UPI member, spoke after Maddox, making references to Provost Blair Lord’s goal for Eastern to have the “first choice” academic programs in public Illinois universities, and President Lou Hencken’s “new beginnings” project theme for replacing the window in the bridge of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

“We will never be a first-choice university without a first-choice contract,” Wehrle said. “We do look forward to great beginnings at Eastern,” but first UPI needs a good contract, he said.

Joe Decaro, member of the Eastern chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was at the rally to control the sound for the event. He is on the clerical and technical negotiating team for AFSCME, and understands how important the negations are to campus.

“It hurts morale, I would say it hurts everyone,” Decaro said of the conflict. “I’ve got a feeling this is going to go on for a while. I think the (negotiations) have been dragging on too long myself.”

A few students stopped in passing to watch the rally, including Andy Zerbian, a senior marketing major.

“I’ve never seen anything like this on campus,” he said. “I saw a crowd of people holding signs, I just figured something was going on.”

Zerbian’s opinion of UPI’s request of higher compensation was a negative one because he’s been unhappy with the teaching styles of some of his professors, implying he could have stayed at home and learned just as much as he did from going to class.

“I think they (faculty) should increase they’re effort and show that they’re worth it,” he said.

Bob Wayland, chief negotiator for the administration, said in an e-mail he did not think the rally was appropriate

“The mediator is doing his job of facilitating this resolution process and a disruptive rally will not affect his efforts, however, it shows a lack of respect for the federal mediator and the institutional process,” Wayland said. “In my extensive labor relations experience of more than 30 years, I have never seen rallies designed to disrupt the mediation process.

“The EIU administration will not be coerced or forced to do anything that is not in the best interest of Eastern Illinois University and its student body,” he said.

UPI President Charles Delman closed the rally Wednesday afternoon by chanting, “we’ll be back” if an agreement is not reached.