07 Feb Healthcare Message to Members
Dear UIC United Faculty Member,
As you may recall about a year ago we sent a request to President Killeen regarding our concerns about future increases to the cost of our health care. As a result of our advocacy and working in coalition with the UIC Senate, Academic Professional Advisory Council, and Staff Advisory Council leaders, the President formed a taskforce. After doing research and holding three town hall meetings, a report was produced and recently shared with leadership at all three campuses.
You can find the report at this link:
The Executive Board of UIC United Faculty has reviewed it and find that while it is very informative, it does not indicate what the university will do – if anything – should health care costs increase. For details about how your health costs could go up, see this flyer prepared by the IFT
We will be discussing the options outlined in the report and what strategies we might pursue moving forward at our next full membership meeting, March 8, 3:00-5:00pm at Student Center East.
In the meantime, I encourage you to attend the APAC “Budget Outlook” Town Hall, February 9th, 2:00 – 4:00 PM, Thompson Room, Student Center West, 828 West Wolcott Avenue.
Also, we informed you in an email January 24th that the Illinois Senate was working on a Budget Grand Bargain, which included cuts to our pension and a smaller budget for higher education. As of today, the 13 bill package has still not come to a vote. However, it may happen this week, so if you have not yet called your state senator to voice your opinion about this, this is the week to do so.
With the support of IFT staff in Springfield and AFT staff in Washington DC, we are watching with a keen eye all legislation that is being considered and the positions of our elected officials. These are certainly interesting times – all the more reason we need a strong union.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me or your representative. You can find contact information on the UICUF website, http://uicunitedfaculty.org/.
In solidarity,
Janet Smith
UIC United Faculty President
Local #6456 AFT-IFT, AAUP, AFL-CIO
http://uicunitedfaculty.org/