CARBONDALE -- Four unions at Southern Illinois University are set to go on strike this Thursday if no contract deal is reached. Members of the Faculty, Civil Service, Non-Tenured Faculty, and Graduate Assistant unions have been working without a contract since last year.
About a week ago, each union set a strike date for November 3rd. That deadline is not sitting well with many local business owners, who say both the city and students will suffer if there's a strike.

The consensus is, if this strike happens, we all will see an effect. The short-term economic impact isn't the only effect they're worried about, but one that has a lot more potential to make all Carbondale businesses suffer in the future.

What do pizza shop, a tanning salon, and a outdoors outlet have in common?

"We depend a lot on the university."

Southern Illinois University is the biggest economic driver in Carbondale, employing thousands of people and drawing in more than twenty thousand students every year. Now, some business owners fear much of that economic stability may go into limbo if the four unions go on strike this week.

"We have people that walk over from SIU during their lunch hour, quite a few people. A lot of walk-ins from the streets that are affiliated with the University. So it could really affect business," explains Cathy Biggs with Paradise Island Tanning.

The winter is when Paradise Island Tanning brings in much of its income. But if people don't have a job, Biggs worries a nice tan will be the least of people's concerns.

"It's the wrong time of year for us to lose business," says Shawnee Trails owner Rick Reeves.

Winter sales account for nearly 60% of Shawnee Trails yearly profits. Reeves knows what can happen when a strike hits Carbondale.

"When there was much more coal mining done down here, when they'd strike, our sales would plummet. And it was a little unnerving, and I'm feeling that way now, again."

But for some city leaders, it's the potential long-term impact of even a short-lived strike that's the big concern.

"I think the issue is a much bigger one than our short-term, whatever blip it might cause in the local economy. I really think it's the health of the University," says Carbondale city council member Jane Adams.

"You go see a strike going on at a school that you may have potential to be on your visitation list, I think it's only human nature that one would think twice. Is this the place you want to send your kid to," explains Steve Payne, Quatro's Pizza owner.

And if student levels drop at the city's economic engine, many shop owners believe the new common thread between Carbondale businesses could be unemployment.

Union leaders had hoped voting to authorize a strike would spur more serious negotiations with the administration. Now, they're hoping setting an actual strike date will do the trick. SIU officials insist they have a plan in place to keep classes running smoothly should a strike occur.