diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ AC_TYPE_UINT8_T
 AC_TYPE_UINT16_T
 AC_TYPE_UINT32_T
 
+dnl execio has a nice() call but it's not vital to our operation
+AC_CHECK_FUNCS([nice])
+
 dnl selective compilation
 dnl For now, this is only left for when the C-based client is
 dnl reintroducded.