The Eastern chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois and the administration were no closer to settling their differences after Wednesday’s faculty contract negotiations than they were before the seven-hour-long meeting with a federally contracted mediator.

“We’re still where we were when we went in there,” said Bob Wayland, chief negotiator for the administration. “We still have quite a difference” in the two parties’ proposals.

John Allison, chief negotiator for UPI, commented that UPI was unhappy with the movement of the administration during the meeting, but he declined to elaborate to keep the meeting confidential.

“We were naturally disappointed that no progress had resulted and were surprised that the administration did not wish to keep the mediation process moving along further during the course of the evening,” Allison said.

The two parties have continued to meet between mediation meetings to work out issues, but there are issues that have still not been resolved. UPI President Charles Delman said compensation and workload were issues on which both parties have been unable to reach a compromise.

“We still feel we’ve offered a very lucrative package,” Wayland said. The administration is offering a 21.25-percent increase, a more than $7 million increase to the university during four years in compensation.

UPI said the 21.25-percent increase does not equal the loss of wages because of inflation and is asking for about a 30-percent increase.

In a news release Friday, UPI said “during the four years of our last contract, basic faculty salary increases have totaled 7.6 percent less than inflation during that period.”

The news release was in response to a comment made by Wayland that increasing the administration’s proposed compensation in faculty contracts would cause an increase in tuition for students.

“Without additional state funding, any additional cost that we incur will have to be put on the students in tuition,” Wayland said. “Our concern is what’s going to happen if we offer more money. We know who is going to have to pay for it.

“We’re committing money that’s taxpayers’ money, student tuition fees, so we want to be darn sure that what we commit to we can pay for.”

The press release said tuition and enrollment has increased in the past four years without an increase in faculty salaries.

The release stated, “Even allowing for declining state appropriations, the total funds received by the university from tuition and state appropriations have increased far faster than the salaries of faculty members and academic support professionals.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, the two parties exchanged scenarios for change or compromise, Wayland said, but neither proposal has changed since before the September meeting.

Today and Tuesday were set aside for mediation between the two parties; however, the mediator said he would not return for a meeting with the parties unless there was a “clear prospect that we can make some progress here,” Allison said.

The mediator will return Tuesday for a meeting, suggesting that one of the parties is ready to make a change.

“We’re all tired of this and we’d like to see it end,” Wayland said.

Allison said UPI is willing to work hard until both parties can agree.

“Tensions are bound to mount; however, UPI has no intention to call for an immediate strike,” he said. A strike is, “one’s last option to exercise, not one to exercise right now.”