Eastern Illinois University has accepted a faculty union plan to defer more than $2 million in salaries so the university can make payroll until the end of the fiscal year.
EIU-UPI is the school’s faculty union. The university’s board of trustees made the vote earlier this week to accept the proposal for the salary deferral plan. Union president Jonathan Blitz called the plan a “magnanimous gesture” that demonstrates the union’s commitment to the school and its students.
EIU has had cash flow problems because of a lack of state funding for higher education due to a budget impasse in Springfield. The university recently had to layoff 177 employees.