Union-represented faculty and staff at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago could be the latest to walk the picket lines after 95% of members voted Thursday to strike if an agreement with the administration is not reached at upcoming bargaining sessions.

NEIU would be the fourth state university to face a work stoppage if union members go on strike, joining faculty and staff at Chicago State University, Governor’s State University and Eastern Illinois University, where strikes are underway.

The NEIU chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois has been bargaining with the university since July over working conditions and pay.

Nancy Matthews, NEIU chapter president and professor of gender and sexuality studies said that although the union hopes to avert a strike, there are several points to work out during the 10-day waiting period following the union’s intent to strike.

“I would say we are not close; we have major issues still on the table,” she said Thursday. “What I’m hopeful about is that we have a mostly new board of trustees and I believe the new board members are motivated to help the university reach a settlement.”

“Until then, we are still going to work as hard as we can to achieve a fair agreement,” Matthews said.

There were two simultaneous events Thursday at the Northwest Side university — a rally where the board of trustees met and a bargaining session.

Matthews said NEIU is threatening deep budget cuts, likely due to plunging enrollment, “and they are solving that problem on the backs of student-facing employees.”

“We’re all people who work directly with students; we’re not part of the administrative bloat that has grown around the university,” Matthews said, adding that the union includes tenure-track and non-tenure-track instructors, as well as librarians and academic advisers.

In a statement Thursday, NEIU administrators acknowledged the drop in enrollment at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when first-year, full-time enrollment numbers dropped to 331 in fall 2021, but increased to 516 in fall 2022.

“The reality is Northeastern is experiencing a budget deficit. The deficit was exacerbated during the COVID pandemic because many of our students lost the jobs they rely on to pay for their education,” NEIU officials said. “Northeastern’s budget priority continues to focus on supporting our students in need and stabilizing retention and recruitment. This includes actively seeking additional funding from the State of Illinois and looking at appropriate administrative cuts.”

NEIU is classified as a Hispanic-serving institution, with nearly 40% of students identifying as Latinx, according to the most recent federal data.

“The money from the state has been dramatically diminished over the years and our students are among the most vulnerable and they need public higher education to be robustly supported,” Matthews said.

Governors State, Chicago State and Eastern Illinois also serve special student populations. CSU is the state’s only predominantly Black institution and one of few nationwide that offers four-year degree programs. GSU is a minority-serving institution and emerging Hispanic-serving institution. And according to the Illinois Federation of Teachers, EIU is a rural institution and essential to the vitality of the surrounding community.

“For a school like NEIU or Chicago State to be neglected financially by the state, to me, is part of how structural racism works in our society — that the people who are serving marginalized, low-income, first-generation students are also the ones not compensated fairly and at risk constantly,” Matthews said.

NEIU officials said they remain hopeful for successful bargaining, but will have procedures in place to guide the university through a possible strike, including steps to minimize the disruption to students’ education.

April 24 is the earliest NEIU UPI can strike.

zsyed@chicagotribune.com