Administrators at Governors State University and the school’s faculty and staff union have reached a tentative agreement, ending a strike that began April 11, according to union officials.

“This contract is a step toward strengthening our university and the support we can give our students, and it will contribute to attracting high-quality educators and retaining the excellent faculty and staff we have,” GSU University Professionals of Illinois President Mike Hart said in a news release Monday.

Faculty and staff at Governors State — which is a Minority Serving Institution and an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution — will return to work Tuesday after progress was made on key issues in the latest bargaining sessions.

In a statement Tuesday, Cheryl Green, the university’s president, said the tentative contract “accomplishes the goals of both parties — an agreement that recognizes the valuable contributions of the faculty and academic support professionals to the university while at the same time recognizing the university’s fiscal realities.”

GSU’s chapter of the union hit the picket line last week following strikes at Chicago State University and Eastern Illinois University. The news out of Governors State comes after union members at CSU and EIU suspended their strikes after also reaching tentative agreements with their respective administrations.

Union officials at Governors State have said students at the school have an increased need for advising assistance, yet school advisers are overloaded, some with as many as 500 students. Hart said in the news release the tentative contract addresses staff and faculty’s workload concerns and fair compensation.

The union and administration at Governors State have been bargaining since June 2022, and a federal mediator joined the talks in December. In March, union members voted to go on strike after little progress was made in the latest bargaining sessions.

Union members will have a chance to look over the tentative agreement before a ratifying vote.

It was the first time the local of University Professionals of Illinois had struck at Governors State. Members authorized a strike in 2019, but both sides came to terms shortly before teachers were due to walk out.

Union leaders had said that, apart from faculty adviser workloads, wages were a key issue in talks, and members are trying to regain ground lost during prior contracts when annual wages did not keep pace with increases in the cost of living. Wage increases in some years were zero or less than 1%, according to the union.

Specifics of the tentative agreement were not immediately available Tuesday.

mnolan@tribpub.com