Author: Tony Floriani

18 Jun Bargaining Update #2: Meet The Team

Meet Your Bargaining Team

Last week, we announced that negotiations on our 3rd contract will officially begin on Wednesday, 6/20/18. We will be holding a brief meet-and-greet on location, to support our bargaining team and show our union pride. Join us:

Wednesday, 6/20/18, 1:45-2pm
@Student Center East, Illinois Room C (third floor)

Come wearing your UIC T-shirts for a group photo, then we will hear a few words from our bargaining team before negotiations begin in earnest.

#ReadyToBargain

IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT you can still support your union online:

1. Print the WeLoveUIC-logo
2. Hold up the sign and take a selfie
3. Post on twitter or facebook @UICUF #ReadyToBargain

As ever, the willingness of our members and our communities to be active observers and participants in this process are what we need in order to achieve the best outcomes possible. Therefore, for the duration of the bargaining process, we will be issuing periodic updates via email, facebook, twitter, and here on our website. We strongly encourage everyone to like and follow us on social media. With your support, we can make UIC an even better place to work and learn!

In Solidarity,

UIC United Faculty Bargaining Team

Aaron Krall [Co-Chair], Senior Lecturer, English | Kevin Whyte [Co-Chair], Professor, Math, Statistics and Computer Science | Kheir Al-Kodmany, Professor, Urban Planning and Policy | Xochitl Bada, Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies | Joaquin Chavez, Associate Professor, History | Jim Drown, Senior Lecturer, English | Chris Kanich, Assistant Professor, Computer Science | Scott McFarland, Lecturer, English | Paul Pieper, Associate Professor, Economics | Paul Preissner, Associate Professor, Architecture | Laurie Quinn, Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Science | Jeffrey Sklansky, Associate Professor, History | Charitianne Williams, Senior Lecturer, English | Milos Zefran, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

12 Jun Bargaining Update #1: First Session Scheduled, Follow for Updates

One month ago, on May 9th, UIC United Faculty presented UIC Administration with our demand to bargain over what will become our third contract since the union was founded in 2012. Last week, the university responded with proposed meeting times, and we have mutually agreed to several dates for our opening negotiating sessions. We can now announce that our first session will take place on Wednesday, June 20th, from 2pm-5pm. We will announce the location when confirmed.

While the bargaining process has just begun, the bargaining team has been meeting regularly since Fall of last year to prepare. We have spent that time surveying the membership on bargaining priorities, crafting contract proposals, and preparing for the challenges of meeting our administration at the negotiating table. We hope our efforts will facilitate an efficient and productive bargaining process. However, we are ready to stand our ground, if need be, to win the human capital our university needs to thrive, dignified salaries that allow members to reside in the Chicagoland communities that we serve, and shared governance processes that empower all faculty.   

As ever, the willingness of our members and our communities to be active observers and participants in this process are what we need in order to achieve the best outcomes possible. Therefore, for the duration of the bargaining process, we will be issuing periodic updates via email, facebook, twitter, and here on our website. We strongly encourage everyone to like and follow us on social media, and consider supporting the bargaining team by attending a rally, 30 minutes prior to the first session. Details for the rally will be announced shortly. With your support, we can make UIC an even better place to work and learn!

In Solidarity,

UIC United Faculty Bargaining Team

Aaron Krall [Co-Chair], Senior Lecturer, English | Kevin Whyte [Co-Chair], Professor, Math, Statistics and Computer Science | Kheir Al-Kodmany, Professor, Urban Planning and Policy | Xochitl Bada, Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies | Joaquin Chavez, Associate Professor, History | Jim Drown, Senior Lecturer, English | Chris Kanich, Assistant Professor, Computer Science | Scott McFarland, Lecturer, English | Paul Pieper, Associate Professor, Economics | Paul Preissner, Associate Professor, Architecture | Laurie Quinn, Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Science | Jeffrey Sklansky, Associate Professor, History | Charitianne Williams, Senior Lecturer, English | Milos Zefran, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

09 May UIC United Faculty Union Announces Intent to Bargain New Contract

Today, we, the United Faculty of the University of Illinois Chicago, formally announced our intention to bargain for a new contract. It is our hope that through negotiation, our union can make UIC an even better place to work and learn. In our negotiations this year, the United Faculty will seek to address:

• Stagnant salaries amid rising costs of living in the Chicago area.
• Changing demands on faculty pursuant to rapid enrollment growth at the University.
• Shared governance principles that must form the backbone of decision-making at the University.

Faculty at UIC provide top quality education for students in the Chicago area, and perform research that deepens knowledge and improves lives the world over.  Yet despite raising salary minimums 40% since our first contract, we still have faculty who are paid well below the median income for our community. At the same time we are being asked to accept an ever expanding list of duties.

Therefore, we will pursue increasing salaries for our lowest paid faculty, as well as improved salary pools across the board. We will also work to keep faculty from bearing the burden of increasing healthcare costs, which politicians are callously trying to pass on to workers. The University has pleaded poverty for years amid stagnating salaries, while pointing to no-budget austerity measures as justification. Administration owes it to the entire UIC community to fight alongside our members for adequate funding that will address years of lost income growth among faculty, without laying the cost at our students’ feet. UIC faculty are proud to serve the communities of Chicago. We deserve the dignity of a professional income in our hometown.

Additionally, our University is projecting and planning for rapid growth over the coming years. As UIC fervently pursues its capital campaign to fuel this growth with new classrooms and dorms, it must also pursue a parallel human capital campaign to effectively handle the influx of new students. While non-tenure track faculty play a key role in realizing the goals of our university, a commitment to sustained student growth should be matched with a commitment to sustained growth in secure, tenure-line positions, which are critical to the operation of a top research university.

The United Faculty are also concerned with threats to shared governance. Statutes and bylaws are too often ignored. Meanwhile, discussion and advisement are not always required for critical issues facing faculty, like merit determinations or appropriate workloads. We intend to address disparities, and ensure that the spirit of shared governance is applied to important questions affecting all our faculty.

We hope that the University administration will join us in negotiating a timely and effective agreement. We will be keeping you informed throughout this process, and encourage our members to participate by attending and respectfully observing the negotiating process.

In Solidarity,

UIC United Faculty Bargaining Committee

Kheir Al-Kodmany, Xochitl Bada Garcia, Joaquin Chavez, Jim Drown, Chris Kanich, Aaron Krall, Paul Pieper, Paul Preissner, Lauretta Quinn, Jeff Sklansky, Janet Smith, Vit Vanicek, Kevin Whyte, Charitianne Williams, Milos Zefran