Author: UICUF staff

02 Feb Contract Ratification Information

Tentative Agreements

Draft of NTT contract: https://uofi.box.com/s/1i3928f0z75w5xga769t1r3il3ia5ibp
NTT draft with changes marked: https://uofi.box.com/s/0wr966yl652jmohziuvm9ao0mhkrzl3z
 
Draft of TT contract: https://uofi.box.com/s/ptstgd1pdygi7ta2yc4n6yjagx9u94ub
TT draft with changes marked: https://uofi.box.com/s/qn95ve454qkwhqvnnrviqorrvgjsqajm

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Contract Ratification Meeting (2/2/23)

Slides from meeting

Zoom recording, transcript, and chat

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Online Voting

Tenure track: https://vote.electionrunner.com/election/9xUqx

Non-tenure track: https://vote.electionrunner.com/election/ANG0x

Sign in using your NetID and UIN. You should also have gotten an email with an individualized link that will automatically sign you in. If you want us to resend the email and voting instructions, let us know at uicunitedfaculty@gmail.com.

24 Jan WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN

Dear members,

We won! Strike suspended! Please feel free to notify your students that classes will resume tomorrow (Monday). We have included template for emailing to students below.

Much, much more information is forthcoming, as well as a membership meeting where you all will vote on whether or not to ratify this contract. But tonight, celebrate, and feel the power of our mighty, mighty union.

Key wins for the union in this contract are:

• Non-contractual, public commitments on expanding resources for student wellness and establishing psychoeducational testing
• Increased minimum salaries for the lowest paid faculty: $60,000 NTT and $71,500 TT
• $2,500 equity adjustment to base salaries for all represented faculty 
• 20% raise pools over the course of the 4-year contract
• Stronger job protections for non-tenure track faculty 
• Expanded Non-Discrimination & Anti-Harassment policies
• Increased professional development funds
• And more…

This is a victory for all of us. Your commitment to each other and to your students during this strike has won a better UIC for all of us.

emplate email for students: 

Dear Students, 

Thank you for all of your patience and support for striking faculty over the past week! I’m happy to let you know that, after many hours of striking and bargaining, we have tentatively agreed to a contract with the university. This means that we will be back to work starting tomorrow, Monday! I am excited to see you in class as usual and am happy to answer whatever questions you have about the strike then. 

Take care, 

[Your Name]

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English) | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

17 Jan On Strike!

FAQs for members, students, graduate workers, and adjunct faculty.

On Strike for 

• Fair minimum salaries
• Salary increases that keep up with inflation
• Learning disability assessments for our students
• Earlier notice of reappointment for NTT faculty
• Due process for TT faculty

We urge all members to stop work and join our picket lines between 10-12 and 1-3, and our noon rallies on the quad. Pickets will operate at UH, SES, the Lecture Centers, and the College of Nursing.  Those who have already signed up for picket times will receive a separate email with a reminder of their commitments. Those who have not yet signed up should go to the quad to get a picket line assignment on East Campus, and to the College of Nursing if you want to be on West Campus.

Final Bargaining Session: Over 200 members showed up at Student Center West on MLK Day to support our bargaining team. Over 100 others joined via zoom. We passed proposals back and forth with the management team from 10 am until 10pm, when they passed us a counter that indicated that they had no interest in resolving our differences. While they did send a message to the UIC community reaffirming a commitment to student mental health, they continue to ignore our concrete proposals on disability assessment and including faculty in ongoing conversations about expanded mental health resources. They remain stuck on an annual annual raise of 4.25%, and a minimum starting salary of $54,000.

Remaining issues that are still on the table include: Members can follow this link to our bargaining observation guide to see in detail what remains to be resolved.

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English)  | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

07 Jan Bargaining Update + Revised Schedule for Week Ahead

• The need for member action is now!
• UICUF and management have exchanged comprehensive settlement packages with little movement from management.
• Next bargaining session: Tuesday 1/10, 9:00-12:00, SCE White Oak Room. (Monday session canceled.)
• Informational picketing & picket captain trainings Tuesday 1/10 and Wednesday 1/11.
• Special member meeting Thursday 1/12 at 5pm in SCE Cardinal Room.
• Strike FAQs for faculty, graduate workers, and students are now available.

Opportunities to help us settle a contract: This week we have two bargaining sessions, two informational pickets, an art/poster-making session, and a member meeting. If we want to win a strong contract without having to go on strike, we need every member to commit to at least one of these activities this week. This link will take you to our calendar.

Bargaining: On Thursday the UICUF Bargaining Committee presented management with a comprehensive settlement package consisting of all outstanding contract articles. We made significant concessions, including a step down in our salary demands. On Friday management returned a full counter without budging on salary pools. They continue to insist on just a two-year contract, with a 5% salary pool for Year 1, and 3.5% for Year 2. They also sought to take one article out of the package, where we made a significant concession on standard AAUP shared governance rights, and asked us to sign that article without making any concessions of their own, despite us telling them when we gave them our comprehensive proposal that we won’t be giving up that concession without movement from them on something else.

We caucused, drafted our comprehensive counterproposal, and handed that back, so now everything is sitting in management’s court once again. Since time wouldn’t permit them to consider any movement in time for our previously scheduled Monday morning session, that session is now canceled. The next session will be Tuesday, 9-12, SCE White Oak Room. It is vital at this stage that management sees our members in the room with us, so we call on all members to show up Tuesday morning. You needn’t be there the whole time. If you want to observe via zoom, please ask staff for a zoom link by emailing them at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com. The only other scheduled bargaining session before our strike date is Thursday, 2:30-4, at SCW Room 206.

For a summary of outstanding issues, please see this bargaining observation guide.

Informational Picketing: To warm up our picketing skills and raise awareness about contract bargaining, we’ll be picketing Tuesday 1/10 12:30-1:30pm at Student Center East (west entrance) and Wednesday 1/11 10-11am outside UH. We encourage all members to attend at least one of the pickets. If you have not participated in a strike before, this will help you know what to expect.

Picket Captain Training: Before each informational picket (Tuesday 1/10 12-12:30 at SCE and Wednesday 1/11 9:30-10 at UH), we will have a half hour training for picket captains. Even if you aren’t sure you want to be a picket captain, you should come to this training! We’ll discuss picket line safety & organization, legal rights, chant leading techniques, and more.

Poster and Art Making: In preparation for the informational pickets and possible strike, we’ll have a poster and art making session Monday 1/9 2-4pm in the Writing Center (Grant Hall). Come to make art, have fun, and hang out with other union members! Please let us know if you plan to join us by sending an email to UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com.

Special Member Meeting: Just after our final scheduled bargaining session on Thursday 1/12 at 5pm in the SCE Cardinal Room, we’ll hold a meeting for all union members to discuss the status of bargaining and whether we will need to strike.

Frequently Asked Questions: Union staff have been fielding questions about what faculty, graduate workers, and students can and cannot do, and what they should expect, in the event of a UICUF strike. FAQ documents are ready (links above), and will be updated continuously as new questions come our way. Faculty wishing to have hard copies of student FAQs to distribute to their classes may pick up hard copies at our informational pickets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English)  | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

04 Jan Start the new year with ACTION
for a better 2023 at UIC!

• Bargaining resumes Thursday 1-4pm in SCE White Oak Room
• Sign up for a picket shift! 
• Informational picketing & picket captain trainings Tues 1/10 and Wed 1/11
• Special member meeting Thurs 1/12 at 5pm in SCE Cardinal Room

As we prepare for the spring semester, we’re also preparing for our final bargaining sessions and potential strike. (Less than 2 weeks away!) We have several actions during the first week of classes that we want all union members to participate in. This is our final chance to show our power, win a fair contract, and avert a strike: 

Bargaining: Bargaining starts again this Thursday. We have 5 sessions currently scheduled before the 17th:
            Thurs 1/5, 1-4pm in SCE White Oak Room
            Fri 1/6, 1-4pm in SCW 206AB
            Mon 1/9, 9am-12pm in SCE White Oak Room
            Tues 1/10, 9am-12pm in SCE White Oak Room
            Thurs 1/12, 2:30-4pm in SCW 206AB

As we enter the final stages of bargaining, we strongly encourage all members to attend bargaining IN PERSON rather than remotely. Now is the time for everyone to do a little bit extra to increase our chances of avoiding a strike. Attending in person communicates our power to the administration and shows support for our bargaining team. If you do need to join remotely, email union staff for the link. 

Informational Picketing: To warm up our picketing skills and raise awareness about contract bargaining, we’ll be picketing Tuesday 1/10 12:30-1:30pm at Student Center East (west entrance) and Wednesday 1/11 10-11am outside UH. We encourage all members to attend at least one of the pickets. If you have not participated in a strike before, this will help you know what to expect. 

Picket Captain Training: Before each informational picket (Tuesday 1/10 12-12:30 at SCE and Wednesday 1/11 9:30-10 at UH), we will have a half hour training for picket captains. Even if you aren’t sure you want to be a picket captain, you should come to this training! We’ll discuss picket line safety & organization, legal rights, chant leading techniques, and more. 

Poster and Art Making: In preparation for the informational pickets and possible strike, we’ll have a poster and art making session Monday 1/9 2-4pm in the Writing Center (Grant Hall). Come to make art, have fun, and hang out with other union members!

Special Member Meeting: Just after our final scheduled bargaining session on Thursday 1/12 at 5pm in the SCE Cardinal Room, we’ll hold a meeting for all union members to discuss the status of bargaining and whether we will need to strike. 

You can add all of these events to your calendar from the UICUF calendar: https://uicunitedfaculty.org/calendar/. 

Get Ready to Strike
While we don’t want to strike, we need to be ready if it’s necessary. Here are a few things you can do to prepare: 

• Sign up for picket shifts: All union members should sign up for shifts on the picket lines the week of the 17th. Shifts last for one hour, and picketing will go from 10am to 3pm each day of the strike.
• Sign up to be a picket captain: https://forms.gle/WVThizWzzsP9S5ui8 
• Get union swag! To keep you warm on the picket lines, we have new knit UICUF caps. Come to any of the events listed above to get a union t-shirt, cap, and/or button
• Talk to your students about a possible strike – keep your eyes out for an FAQ for students that we’ll send later this week. 

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English)  | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

20 Dec Happy Holidays, and Here is to Settling a Contract in January!

• Bargaining update: Here is a summary of issues still on the table
• Mark your calendars: January bargaining sessions, special member meeting, tentative strike date listed below
• Please sign up for picket line duty.

Dear UICUF Members:

We wish you all happy holidays and a well-deserved vacation! Before settling in for the semester break, please make note of some January dates for bargaining, a special member meeting to consider what is still on the table, and our tentative strike date.

Bargaining Update
The last bargaining session of 2022 was held last Friday. Management returned counter proposals on leaves and sabbaticals, discipline, and conversion to the “teaching professor” ranks. We continue to have points of disagreement on all of these issues. They also brought a new version of Article XII, Hours of Work and Commitment. On Monday we were able to resolve a few technical issues via email, and have now signed a tentative agreement on the article. The new version of this article gives clearer guidelines for what needs to be in unit-level workload expectation policies and how they are applied. The article includes a deadline for adoption of workload policies and states that all policies must be posted in a central location accessible to all faculty.

For an overview of all remaining issues on the table, please follow this link.

Save the Dates

• Thursday, January 5, 1-4, Bargaining, SCE White Oak Room
• Friday, January 6, 1-4, Bargaining, SCW 206
• Monday, January 9, 9-12, Bargaining, SCE White Oak Room
• Tuesday, January 10, 9-12, Bargaining, SCE White Oak Room
• Thursday, January 12, 2:30-4, Last Scheduled Bargaining Session, SCW 206
• Thursday, January 12, 5-7, Special Member Meeting, SCE Cardinal Room
• Tuesday, January 17, tentative strike date

Bargaining sessions will be hybrid, and a zoom link will be sent to members the morning of each session. We will have a zoom link for the January 12 member meeting for those who request it (please send your request to UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com), but we urge in-person attendance for those whose health permits attendance.
 
Strike Readiness
Should our Bargaining Committee call a strike, we will operate four picket lines each day from 10 am to 3 pm, with a noon rally each day. Please register for a shift (or several) on picket line here. The first 200 people to sign up will get a new blue UICUF beanie! When you get to the form, you will see that there is an option for those unable to walk a picket line to indicate willingness to contribute to the strike in other ways.
 
The week of January 9 we will share Strike FAQs for faculty, graduate workers, and students.

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English)  | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

16 Dec Bargaining Update

• Management offers a 2-year contract with disappointing content
• Last bargaining session of 2022: Today, December 16, 3-5, SCW 206 and via zoom.
• Please volunteer to be a picket captain or join the organizing committee

Bargaining Update
All contract articles were in management’s court in advance of our meeting with them Monday the 12th. They returned to us a proposed two-year contract with minimum salaries below those of CPS and the City Colleges, along with a cumulative pay raise of 8.5%, which would barely cover the inflation we experienced the past year. They continue to reject our proposals to strengthen job security for NTT faculty, ensure administrative accountability in shared governance, improve mental health services to our students, and clarify intellectual property rights, among other things. They did not respond to our latest proposal for progressive discipline for TT faculty.

On a positive note, we signed a tentative agreement on Article IV, Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment. Management agreed to include language regarding bullying. A definition of bullying and a policy to address it have not yet been developed by the university, though at the system level work on this is underway, and when a definition and policy are established, they will be enforceable under our contract.

Join Us Today
Our last bargaining session of 2022 will be today, December 16, 3-5, SCW 206 and via zoom. We will be providing counters to at least some of the proposals management gave us Monday, and will be looking forward to management providing additional responses to articles remaining in their court. 

No future sessions are scheduled at this time, but depending upon how Friday’s session goes, we may meet again on January 5 and/or 6, before classes resume. We will let you know next week what the plans are for early January bargaining.

Strike Readiness
Pulling off a strong strike takes input from everyone. We’re asking union members to sign up to be picket captains and to join an organizing committee that will help plan actions each day of a potential strike. These are crucial roles to help union leaders and staff prepare for a strike and to help mobilize other union members to participate. If you would like to discuss these roles, or other ways you might contribute to our organizing, please reach out to us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com. 

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English)  | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

30 Nov UICUF Bargaining Team Calls Strike for January 17 if Necessary

• Member meeting update: UICUF members agree to set strike date for January 17
• Please volunteer to be a picket captain or join the organizing committee
• 3 more bargaining sessions this semester: Dec 6, Dec 9, Dec 12. 

Strike Readiness meeting update

After a well-attended and lively member meeting Monday evening, the UICUF Bargaining Committee has set January 17, 2023, as the tentative start to an indefinite strike if we are unable to secure a fair contract before then. We have all been working without a contract for almost a full semester now, and are committed to not let that continue into the spring. 

Pulling off a strong strike takes input from everyone. We’re asking union members to sign up to be picket captains and to join an organizing committee that will help plan actions each day of a potential strike. These are crucial roles to help union leaders and staff prepare for a strike and to help mobilize other union members to participate. 

Bargaining Update

With three more sessions scheduled before the end of the current semester, we remain far apart from management on a number of issues crucial to making UIC an excellent place to work and learn. 

• We seek raises that reward merit and address compression and equity, on top of keeping up with inflation. The standing offer from the administration would constitute an effective pay cut, given inflation. What they are offering for the next two years wouldn’t make up for the inflation of the past year.
• We seek greater job security and support for NTT faculty–now nearly half of UIC’s faculty–including earlier notice of reappointment, rolling contracts, protections against workload creep, and access to professional leaves. The administration will not entertain any of this.
• We seek a system of progressive discipline for tenured and tenure-track faculty that NTT faculty already enjoy. The administration has rejected our efforts to specify due process rights for tenured and tenure-track faculty. 
• We want to require that administrators who ignore faculty votes in the shared governance process explain their rationale for rejecting faculty advice. The administration does not think that faculty deserve to know why their advice was not followed.
• We seek a minimum level of mental health care for our students, as well as access for UIC students to the same free evaluation for learning disabilities that students at UIUC enjoy. The administration doesn’t think such things belong in our contract, and hasn’t committed to realizing these support systems through other means.

Please join the bargaining team at our remaining three sessions and make your voice heard!

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English)  | Jennifer Rupert (Senior Lecturer, English, Gender and Women’s Studies) | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Kevin Whyte (Professor, Math, Statistics, and Computer Science) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

24 Nov Strike-Readiness member meeting Monday, November 28, 5pm, Hull House and on Zoom

With Gratitude and Thanks

During this short fall break, we want to depart from our usual messaging to offer something more personal. We have been sending bargaining updates for over seven months, usually without good news. Looking back, it would be easy to feel like the work many UIC faculty engage in remains invisible or unappreciated. We would like to ask that everyone reading this message take a moment and acknowledge the amazing service we as a faculty provide the UIC campus, its students, and its communities. It would be easy to feel overlooked by what has been offered at the table. But the phenomenal work you do, the extra mile you walk, and the intellectual joy and empathy with which you serve your students and communities is not invisible–your work is viewed by your community with gratitude. Your students and your colleagues are thankful for you. The bargaining committee has been listening, and we hope to offer you a contract soon that matches the value of your labor, or fight by your side to make that happen.

Status of Negotiations

On Tuesday, management presented a proposal for a two-year contract that, given the current rate of inflation, would effectively cut faculty pay. We remain far apart on NTT job security, TT progressive discipline, and institutional commitments to provide essential support for faculty work. We have had some positive convergence on language regarding bullying, shared governance, and workload policies, but those issues remain unsettled.

We invite all members to deliberate the next steps at a Strike Readiness meeting Monday, November 28th 5pm at Hull House or via Zoom. We will settle on benchmarks for declaring a strike, form a strike organizing committee, and kick off recruitment of strike captains. 

Attend Bargaining!

Attending bargaining allows you to see for yourself what is going on, allows you to provide input to our team during caucuses, and demonstrates to our team and to the administration that our bargaining team has faculty support. You can always attend via zoom, or in person. 

Upcoming sessions:

• Monday, November 28, 10-1, SCE White Oak Room (Please plan to attend this important session and then follow up at the Strike-Readiness meeting with your thoughts.)
• Tuesday, December 6, 12:30-2:30, SCE White Oak Room
• Monday, December 12, 10-1, SCW 206

In Solidarity,

The UIC UF Bargaining team

Xochitl Bada (Associate Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies) | Aaron Krall (Senior Lecturer, English) | Andy Baker (Clinical Assistant Professor, Music) | Anna Kornbluh (Professor, English) | Becky Bonarek (Lecturer, Tutorium in Intensive English) | Charitianne Williams (Senior Lecturer, English) | Gosia Fidelis (Associate Professor, History)  | Ian Collins (Clinical Assistant Professor, Daley Library) | Jim Drown (Senior Lecturer, English) | Jeff Gore (Senior Lecturer, English)  | Jennifer Rupert (Senior Lecturer, English, Gender and Women’s Studies) | Kate Floros (Clinical Associate Professor, Political Science) | Kate Lowe (Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy) | Kevin O’Brien (Clinical Associate Professor, Library of the Health Sciences) | Kevin Whyte (Professor, Math, Statistics, and Computer Science) | Laurie Quinn (Clinical Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science) | Nicole Nguyen (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies) | Paul Preissner (Professor, Architecture)

09 Nov Strike Authorization Vote Next Monday & Tuesday

• Remember to cast your vote online or in-person Monday, Nov 14 or Tuesday, Nov 15.
• Analysis of UIC financial resources this Thursday 11.10–both UICUF members and nonmembers are encouraged to attend.

***

On Monday, November 14 and Tuesday, November 15, we will be holding a vote for union members to decide whether to authorize the bargaining committee to call a strike if they think it’s necessary to reach a fair contract. It is important to note that even if you have committed to vote for strike authorization, you will still need to cast your ballot on Monday or Tuesday. Vote commitments are a way to get the word out and assess member support, but they do not count as an actual vote. Voting will take place online and in person on both days. All votes are confidential; union staff and volunteers will know whether you voted, but not how you voted. 

Online Voting

Online voting will be through the website ElectionRunner.com. On Monday, look out for an email from Election Runner that will contain a personalized link to vote, as well as a unique Voter ID and Voter Key to sign into the website. 

Online voting will be open for 48 hours from Monday at 12:01am to Tuesday at 11:59pm. 

In-Person Voting

We will also have in-person voting locations both days. UICUF members will be in the lobbies of the following buildings from 9am to 3pm: 

Monday, Nov 14: 

• University Hall (601 S. Morgan St.) 
• Science and Engineering Offices (851 S. Morgan St.) 
• Student Center West (828 S. Wolcott Ave.) 

Tuesday, Nov 15:

• University Hall (601 S. Morgan St.) 
• Engineering Research Facility (824 W. Taylor St.) 
• School of Public Health (1603 W. Taylor St.)

If you would like to volunteer to help staff one of these voting stations, let us know at uicunitedfaculty@gmail.com. 

Presentation on University Finances this Thursday

Join us this Thursday, Nov 10 from 3:30-4:30pm for a presentation on UIC finances by Howard Bunsis, Professor of Accounting at Eastern Michigan University. Professor Bunsis analysis of University finances is crucial to help us understand the larger context of discussions about faculty salaries and other economic issues at the bargaining table and beyond. We encourage all members of the UIC community to attend and learn about UIC’s financial situation.  Bunsis’s compelling, deeply empirical argument: the university has many more financial resources than the administration is willing to admit.  Please feel free to invite your colleagues.

The presentation will take place in Lecture Center D, Room 5 and via zoom. Bunsis will be presenting a more thorough version of the analysis he shared at our UICUF member meeting in September and responding to questions and comments.