NIU union workers push for higher wages: ‘I currently cannot get by’

DeKALB – Multiple Northern Illinois University union workers crowded into the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday to tell officials they don’t make enough money to get by.

Senior library specialist Martha Villagomez, 46, said the money NIU pays her is not enough to properly support herself.

“I currently cannot get by,” Villagomez said. “I say that ‘I don’t live paycheck to paycheck, I live one step below paycheck to paycheck.’ I count down the days before the paycheck hits because my account is either below $10, negative, or I’m getting repeated automated emails from my bank.”

Villagomez said she makes slightly above $19 an hour.

Employees represented by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1890 – which includes clerical, library and administrative office workers – stood and hoisted signs in a public display amid ongoing contract bargaining. Some signs appeared to compare NIU administrator salaries, often six figures, with their own pay.

The contract AFSCME Local 1890 negotiated with NIU to secure Villagomez’s wage expires at the end of the month, according to the union.

Villagomez’s wage isn’t enough to classify as a living wage, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A single adult living in DeKalb County without a dependent child needs to make $22.15 an hour to earn a living wage, according to MIT’s living wage calculator. A single adult supporting one child would need to make $40.50 an hour.

Villagomez said she receives support from her mother, a retired 75-year-old who deposits her monthly Social Security checks into Villagomez’s bank account.

“That is how I’m able to pay my bills,” Villagomez said, fighting back tears. “I don’t go shopping, I wear the same clothes to work every day of the week. I go over to my parent’s house to do laundry because I can’t afford to do it. I am 46 years old and I feel like I am a teenager because I can’t afford to take care of myself.”

“I count down the days before the paycheck hits because my account is either below $10, negative, or I’m getting repeated automated emails from my bank.”

—  Martha Villagomez

Villagomez is not the only person who said Thursday they can’t afford to support themselves on their wages. One of her coworkers, Villagomez said, needed to pick up a part-time job at Menards to make ends meet.

Rave Meyer, president of AFSCME Local 1890, said more than half of the employees represented by the union earn less than $50,000 a year. A third of them make less than $40,000 in a year, she said.

In 2025, NIU administrative staff will make an annual average of $188,858. That is 6% more than what they made in 2024, according to a comparative analysis published by NIU. Also in 2025, all NIU employees (which the institution classifies as “all faculty”) will make an average of $116,779, which is 5% higher their average pay in 2024, NIU data shows.

But the union president said Thursday that measuring pay changes by averages isn’t always helpful.

“[Northern Illinois University] likes using averages for reporting,” Meyer said. “If one employee earns $150,000 and one earns $30,000, the average of $90,000 implies both are doing well, and we know this to be false.”

Union and university officials met on Wednesday for contract negotiations but no deal has been announced, union workers said as of Thursday morning. In 2023, NIU reached an agreement with two of its worker unions, AFSCME Local 1890 and AFSCME Council 31 that included 5% pay increases after workers complained about “poverty wages.”

That contract not only included pay increases but also raised the minimum starting wage for union members working at the university to $16 an hour. Efforts to address union worker wage inversion – where new hires are sometimes brought on at higher pay rates than tenured workers – were also included in the contract’s provisions, according to the union. Those union workers also got at least a 3% pay increase on July 1, 2024. That contract agreement is set to expire on June 30, however.

On Thursday, union organizers took a similar approach to the last round of contract negotiations. Like they did in September 2023, union members left signs in the room before exiting, urging officials to pay them more. NIU President Lisa Freeman was present.

“We are not asking for favors, we are asking for accountability and equity,” Meyer said. “We will keep showing up until this university values its people as much as its titles.”

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Northern Illinois University employees stand up and hold signs Thursday, June 12, 2025, during the NIU Board of Trustees meeting in Altgeld Hall at NIU in DeKalb. NIU clerical, professional and administrative workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1890 are asking for higher wages when their contract expires at the end of the month. (Mark Busch)

University officials did not immediately respond to Meyer and Villagomez’s comments during the meeting Thursday. Contract negotiations were not on the meeting’s agenda, records show.

In a provided statement to Shaw Local, university officials said they value AFSCME 1890 members and respect the union’s right to advocate and bargain on behalf of their members.

NIU officials also said union and university authorities have met five times since March 18 when new contract discussions began.

In a provided statement, university officials said NIU will be pay AFSCME Local 1890 workers $942,424 more than they got in 2024.

“While, NIU continues to affirm that there is still work to be done to address employees who are below market and is committed to making future investments to remedy, data benchmarked to comparable universities show that NIU offers at or above-market wages for almost all employee groups,” officials said in a statement.

According to NIU records, Freeman’s base salary in 2025 is $480,000, up $5,000 from 2023; while Laurie Elish-Piper, executive vice president and provost, makes $350,200, up $41,200 from 2023.

After speaking for more than five minutes, the time allotted for each individual during the board’s public comment period, Villagomez was told she could have an extra moment to wrap up. She said she was grateful to be allowed the chance to finish speaking during an emotional moment.

“I highly appreciate that, I couldn’t afford my Ritalin yet,” Villagomez said. “Waiting for that paycheck to drop.”

This story was updated at 12:22 p.m. June 13, 2025 to correct an earlier version which misstated the average salary difference for NIU employees.