Western Illinois University must reinstate librarians and provide back pay after an arbitrator ruled the 2024 layoffs violated the university’s collective bargaining agreement. The decision, tied to the elimination of 11 employees, found that WIU treated the library function as non-academic when it effectively was. The remedy includes reinstatement of all nine academic librarians among the impacted employees. Union leaders said the ruling confirms the layoffs were “wrong” and harmed both staff and students. WIU said it would continue to participate in the collaborative arbitration process and declined further comment on pending contractual and personnel matters—leaving the episode as a high-profile test of how institutions manage faculty and staff reductions under union governance.