Overview:
An arbitrator ruled Western Illinois University's layoff of all nine academic librarians and two other professionals illegal, ordering them reinstated with back pay.
Western Illinois University laid off all its librarians last year and is now being forced to rehire them. An arbitrator has ruled that the university’s 2024 decision to lay off all nine of its academic librarian faculty, along with two other bargaining-unit professionals, was illegal, a decision the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) Local 4100 hailed as a major win for students, faculty, staff and public higher education in the state.
The ruling orders that the affected employees be made financially whole and restored to their positions if they choose to return. The two additional professionals whose layoffs were also found to breach the collective bargaining agreement are likewise entitled to reinstatement and back pay. The outcome affirms the union’s long-held argument that the university violated its contract and gutted essential academic support services.
“These layoffs were wrong, they were harmful to staff and students, and they violated our contract,” said WIU Chapter President Merrill Cole, who said the targeted librarians and professionals had built their careers around student success and the university’s educational mission. He welcomed the arbitrator’s recognition of the harm done and the order of meaningful remedies.
The cuts wiped out critical academic support and ranked among the most severe workforce reductions the WIU administration has made in recent years as budget and enrollment pressures mounted. UPI has argued that the administration repeatedly responded to those pressures with short-sighted choices that eroded educational resources and weakened support for students at an institution it describes as an economic and educational anchor for the region.
UPI President John Miller, who also serves as membership secretary for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, called the decision a vindication of the workers who stood together to defend educational quality. He said the arbitrator had affirmed that contractual rights matter and cannot be brushed aside when administrators make decisions affecting livelihoods and student services.
A wider funding fight
Union leaders said the case underscores an urgent need for greater state investment in Illinois public higher education. They argued that regional public universities such as WIU and Eastern Illinois University have borne the brunt of chronic underfunding, and that more than four decades of inadequate state support have pushed costs onto students and families while straining the programs that sustain a strong public system. The strain, they said, falls hardest on institutions serving first-generation students, rural communities and working families.
UPI pointed to the most recent legislative session as a missed opportunity. Despite broad support, lawmakers did not bring House Bill 1581 / Senate Bill 13 — the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act — to a vote. The measure would have begun directing an estimated additional $140 million a year to public universities, prioritizing those with the greatest need.
“Illinois cannot continue asking its public universities, especially the regional ones, to do more with less,” Miller said, urging Gov. JB Pritzker and lawmakers to make higher education funding a priority and keep tuition affordable. Without meaningful investment, he warned, the state risks losing more students to out-of-state schools or pushing them to give up on higher education altogether.
UPI said the arbitration decision sends a clear message that contractual obligations must be honored and that financial challenges cannot be addressed at the expense of workers’ rights, educational quality or student success. The union added that it looks forward to working with WIU leadership to address fiscal concerns and strengthen the university for the students and community who depend on it.
Advocacy continues for academic libraries
Beyond the WIU case, the Coalition for Higher Education Libraries is actively lobbying the Illinois General Assembly to pass bipartisan legislation, Senate Joint Resolution SJR0013, in support of academic libraries. The resolution would create a statewide task force — made up of students, faculty librarians, university library administrators, state higher education leaders (such as CARLI, ISL and IBHE), and legislators — to build support for Illinois’ academic libraries and faculty librarians.
The legislation passed out of the Illinois Senate’s Higher Education Committee on March 5, 2025, and was placed on the Calendar Order of Secretary’s Desk Resolutions on March 6, 2025. Supporters are encouraged to contact their Illinois House and Senate representatives (enter your zip code to identify your representatives) to express support for the bipartisan measure during the spring session.
This is an important reminder that collective bargaining agreements exist for a reason. Reinstating the librarians with back pay highlights the value of due process and the essential role library professionals play in supporting students, faculty, and academic success. Thanks for covering this significantly higher education story.
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. Libraries and librarians play a vital role in supporting students, research, and academic success. It’s encouraging to see due process upheld, and I appreciate the clear coverage of this significant decision. Thanks for sharing this informative article.