News

19 Dec Ending this Semester’s Bargaining with a Bang

UIC United Faculty’s Bargaining Team caucusing with our members during a break in negotiations.

Tensions Boil Over (and Why That’s Okay)
It’s no secret that as time wears on, our bargaining sessions with Administration are becoming more contentious. The Administration team, for their part, appear perplexed with the pace of negotiations, claiming the ball is now completely in our court. Yet, they fail to even acknowledge the bulk of our proposals, choosing simply not to offer written counters despite demanding numerous rewrites from our side. This is not how we – or most people for that matter – bargain over a complex and nuanced written contract. In addition, faculty are frustrated with the low-ball salary numbers we’ve been given. That sentiment has only been exacerbated by claims that the Administration has no money available for more, because they have to choose their battles when seeking funding from the system. In translation, that seems to mean that they’ve chosen to pressure the union into accepting their meager merit raise offer, rather than ask the U of I system to adequately fund faculty salaries at UIC.

With all of these misgivings swirling about, it was hardly surprising that the situation exploded Monday, in plain view of the nearly 30 faculty members who came to observe the proceedings. Faculty members, who testified on a range of issues, expressed their distaste for what they see as Administration’s time-wasting and contrarian bargaining tactics. The Administration team, in turn, accused UIC United Faculty of acting and bargaining like a group of assembly-line workers, a shockingly tone-def attack on our identity as workers. 

Barbs were exchanged. Voices were raised. A recess was called. And then we all came back to the table and got on with the tough business of negotiating.

It may sound crazy, but that’s okay. Some things needed to be said, and we feel the bargaining process will proceed, if nothing else, more honestly for having this frank exchange.

In the aftermath, we feel that we have now made it very clear that we are unimpressed with the contention that Administration’s hands are tied on funding faculty raises. We also think they have finally gotten the message that we don’t intend to walk away from our non-economic priorities. This was underscored by faculty speaking their minds, and making sure concerns about workload and other matters are taken seriously.

Governance is Not a ‘Management Right’
One faculty member’s testimony, in particular, poignantly addressed the fine line between governance and management. Historically, faculty have enjoyed shared governance in US institutions of higher education, meaning that they advise on matters affecting their work, and have a direct say in areas like curriculum. Lately though, some UIC administrators have been appropriating exclusive rights over what faculty feel should fall into the realm of shared governance.

Workload is a prime example. Administration believes that assigning work is a management right, and to some extent that may be true. However, UIC United Faculty contends that setting standards for such assignments should be a collaborative process in which shared governance is applied, working through the unit’s advisory or executive committee. A Dean may ultimately make the final decisions, but shared governance means that faculty are consulted. It means that faculty have input. It means that faculty have a voice, even if it is not the final say on the subject. And having a voice does matter!

As an immediate example, faculty in Applied Health Sciences last year were faced with a unilateral decision by their Dean to increase their course loads without a corresponding increase in pay. With the union’s help, they were able to push back and re-engage the process of shared governance, before the new policies took effect. Their voice mattered, and using it made a difference, even if final decisions technically still lie in the hands of an administrator. Such critical decision-making, however, shouldn’t have to rise to this level of imposition and outrage for faculty to be consulted, which is why our proposals on expanding shared governance matter so much.  

A Silver Lining
With so much tension in the room, we’re actually fairly pleased with the outcomes. Administration, to their credit, came back to the table after our recess, offering to submit a written counter to our workload proposal. That matters because, to date, Administration has been keen to point out why they think our proposal language doesn’t work, but won’t accept rewrites they themselves asked for, and won’t offer their own. Getting counter proposals in writing has been something the union has pushed for since the earliest days of bargaining, and now it appears we will get that.

Next Semester
This was our last meeting of the semester. We will resume after the break at a date and time to be determined. However, we do have one imminent event which you should keep in mind for January. On January 31st, the U of I Board of Trustees will return to UIC for another board meeting. Administration negotiators have squarely pointed to budget constraints as a reason they won’t offer more robust salary figures, and the Board controls that budget. You can do the math here on your own, we’re sure, but suffice it to say, the union will be looking at possible activities around the board meeting on January 31st. We figure the Trustees may need to be reminded that faculty aren’t going to accept raise figures that fall below inflation, while massive administrative bonuses and capital development are being funded without a care.

***

Until we win a fair contract, we will be issuing periodic updates via email, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, 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!

05 Dec Building Bargaining POWER

Power in Context
Monday was a significant day in our campaign to gain a fair contract offer from U of I Administration, but not because they’ve given significant ground. No, the import of Monday’s activities, including the bargaining session itself, and the mass demonstration that immediately preceded it, is all about context rather than content.

Power in the Streets
UICUF and UIC GEO, both currently involved in contentious negotiations with U of I Administration, started the day off with a massive informational picket. Well over 100 members of both unions showed up despite inclement weather, and marched outside of Student Center East, chanting their demands for a #FairContractNow. Picketers continued chanting, reminding Administration as bargaining began, that “We Will Be Back!” even as 30 or so faculty peeled off to observe the session itself.

This action built off of the success of our demonstration at the U of I Board of Trustees meeting last month, and earlier marches on the boss decrying union busting tactics over the summer. It was one of our largest actions to date, and we intend to continue gathering strength and taking actions like this one until a fair contract has been signed.

Power in the Meeting Rooms
Faculty and Grads have not only been flying signs and chanting slogans. Union buttons and blues are becoming a more common sight in board and meeting rooms across the university. This trend was perfectly exemplified by the dozens of Faculty Senators wearing union colors in last week’s Senate meeting, showing solidarity with the bargaining effort.

Dozens more have shown up to each of our bargaining sessions as well. They’ve had the chance to observe first hand the way that U of I negotiators equivocate, prevaricate, and demand revisions to our proposals, only to leave those proposals entirely unacknowledged in their own counters. In fact, over the last 4 sessions during which we’ve invited faculty members to observe, we’ve had over 100 individuals take us up on the opportunity, and from the sound of it, they don’t much like what they’ve seen.

In this last bargaining session, Lisa Stolley, an English Lecturer, volunteered with testimony regarding U of I’s lackluster salary proposals thus far, speaking passionately on the need for respectable professional wages for NTT faculty:

“The amount I am paid is not commensurate with what I do for UIC,” she explained. “It is clear that UIC is investing in self-improvement. Buildings are going up at warp speed, and there will soon be a UIC affiliated law school. UIC is seeking to boost its reputation as a top rate research university, yet is unwilling to invest in what is, without question, one of its greatest assets – non-tenure track faculty… What is the justification for staffing hundreds of UIC classrooms with accomplished, graduate-degreed people, but refusing to pay them a salary that can sustain a modest standard of financial wellbeing?”

Lisa’s story resonates with many faculty. Even those who have tenure positions resoundingly indicated through union surveys their non-tenure track colleagues deserve much more for their contributions to the university, amid calls for a stronger salary program in general.

Power Responds to Power
In our latest session, as in so many sessions before, the U of I negotiating team has indicated broadly that they are unwilling to give serious consideration to most of our proposals. However, we’ve noted some curious behavior since the session prior. For starters, they came to the table this time, recanting their last salary proposal before we even had a chance to ask questions, or make a counter offer. They unilaterally replaced it with a slightly improved offer, though even the new offer is still completely insufficient. Noting the picketers outside the building at the time, we do not think they simply had a change of heart, deciding to become more generous overnight.

We’ve also heard reports that administrators are speaking in department meetings about the negotiations, asserting that the union is dragging its feet, holding back a potential agreement. Perhaps from administration’s perspective, that is so. After all, we’ve consistently reminded them that we’re not agreeing to an objective pay cut for the majority of our members. We’ve rejected their blanket abdication of responsibility from addressing the myriad other issues on the table. We’ve insisted on them discussing our proposals, and treating the bargaining process and  by extension, our membership, with respect.

If holding out over basic principles, like maintaining a professional standard of living for all faculty, and making real progress on working conditions, means we are dragging our feet, then perhaps we should dig in our heels a little more firmly. It’s clear that Administration is taking notice, after all, and that is the clearest signal of all that mounting pressure is having an effect.

Power Grows With Participation
As we all know, union power in negotiations isn’t about having the best arguments, the moral high ground, or the most objectively logical proposals. It is about the participation of union members, and their willingness to fight for what they deserve. Bargaining will resume on Monday, 12/17/18, 1-4pm, at Student Center East, White Oak Room. We hope to have even more members there than we have so far. Further, member testimony has been a powerful inspiration for faculty members, and clearly gives our Administration counterparts pause when as they continue trying to brush off our negotiating positions.

UIC United Faculty’s strength is only growing, and we show that strength every time we arrive at the bargaining table with a large team behind us. If you are able to attend bargaining on the 17th, or are willing to speak on any subject under consideration at the table, please email UICUFJeff@gmail.com.

*        *        *

Until we win a fair contract, 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!

29 Nov Giving Tuesday: Admin Asks Faculty to Give Up on Raises

U of I Administration: Not in a Giving Mood
It’s been said that bargaining ideally is a give and take. No one gets everything they want, but everyone should walk away feeling like they’re getting something out of the agreement. U of I Administration seems to have missed the ‘give’ part of that equation this Giving Tuesday, however.

This past Tuesday, our bargaining team met once again with Administration, for the 12th time since beginning negotiations 23 weeks ago. We duly expected a response to the comprehensive proposal we’d handed them almost a month ago, and especially after over 100 union members demonstrated for fair contracts last week, we hoped it would at least be a decent starting point. What we got, however was not a counter proposal so much as a provocation.

As a reminder, UIC United Faculty has offered proposals that we feel are reasonable by any definition, including those asking for salary increases that catch up for lost growth during the budget impasse, and keep up with inflation over the life of the contract. We also proposed flexible solutions to critical areas of concern for faculty, including workload definitions, discipline procedures, use of student evaluations, and much more.

Administration’s response to these proposals left us hanging in almost every category, but here are the most concerning:

• Year 1 salary increases that won’t even match inflation for 2018, let alone make up for years of lost salary growth
• No guarantee of any merit salary increase beyond year 1
• Failure to even acknowledge most non-economic proposals

That’s right, Administration appears to expect faculty to tighten their belts and agree to a contract that will leave almost everyone objectively poorer than they were last year, even as they sign off on massive building projects and administrator bonuses.

Compounding this brazen approach to faculty compensation, the Administration team has offered nothing but indifference to concerns over workload policy, which we’ve proposed be handled as an issue of shared governance by departments. Administration’s taking on this stance, despite knowing that unilateral workload increases have already happened in one college and been attempted in several other departments, signals to us that they not only accept it, but expect to assign heavier loads in the future. And to round things out, regarding the vast majority of our remaining proposals, Administration has commented only to decree that they don’t think any of it belongs in a labor contract.

UICUF Demands a FAIR CONTRACT NOW!
UIC United Faculty did NOT come to the bargaining table 23 weeks ago to be handed a take-it-or-leave-it, status-quo contract. Even as a first offer, this counter-proposal is, at best, tone deaf to the needs of the faculty whose teaching, research, and service, power this university. As a union, it is our duty to fight for better salaries and working conditions in our contract, and this most certainly is not it.

UICUF plans on showing the Administration, and the public, what we think of this kind of behavior. If you are a faculty member at UIC, and you think you deserve better than stagnant salaries and indifference, now is the time to step up and take action. Here are a few of the ways you can join us in demanding a FAIR CONTRACT NOW:

• Talk to your colleagues. Ask if they’re aware of what’s happening in negotiations.
• Wear your union buttons and UICUF T-shirts on bargaining days
• Join our informational picket with GEO next MONDAY, 12-2pm outside SCE
• Attend bargaining next MONDAY, 2-5pm, SCE, Ft. Dearborn Room
• Share your story about why merit raises and working conditions matter, at the bargaining table, and/or online

Please RSVP to UICUFJeff@gmail.com if you can participate in any or all of the above activities!

*        *        *

Until we win a fair contract, 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!

07 Nov What Our Labor is Worth

UIC United Faculty members caucus with our bargaining team during a brief break from contract negotiations.

It’s Not Just About The Money
UIC United Faculty met once again this Monday with U of I’s negotiating team to continue advocating for a better faculty contract. Last session, we presented our full, comprehensive proposal, which included all of our economic proposals. While we did not receive counter proposals on those items, the Administration team did engage us on questions they had around issues ranging from PD funds to office space.

We can’t share specific language or numbers associated with contract proposals still being discussed, but we do want to remind our members of our core goals going into this negotiation. From the beginning, we’ve aimed to address issues around:

• 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.

To reach these goals, we have proposed an array of measures that would improve working conditions, and are now adding items to address salary concerns across the board. “The last time we negotiated a contract, we were contending with budget austerity and hiring freezes,” explains Aaron Krall, Co-Lead Negotiator for UICUF, “but we’re in a different economic era now.”

While we’ve discussed many of our non-economic proposals already on this blog, our economic proposal cut to the heart of what our labor is worth. That means demanding raise pools that not only keep up with inflation, but make up for years of mediocre or non-growth. It means demanding a universal minimum raise built into the merit system, so no faculty member will be left behind. It means demanding money for professional development in meaningful amounts in relation to critical conferences in their fields. And it means demanding protections against ever-rising health care costs.

These are just a few of the things we intend to fight for, so that UIC faculty can continue to grow in and contribute to their academic communities, while prospering alongside the community they serve.

After Months of Resistance, U of I Recognizes Basic Nondiscrimination Protections
Meanwhile, we do have some good news to share. While we can’t say when our Administration counterparts intend to bring counter proposals on our economic items, or what those proposals will look like, we did see progress being made in other areas.

We are happy to say, we now have a tentative agreement on one of our earliest proposals, on nondiscrimination protections for our members. We brought this article up in the very first bargaining session expressly because we felt it would be common sense to expand protections to vulnerable communities, like non-citizens. Given the disappointing and dangerous turn in the national political climate around such issues, we believed it was a no-brainer to position UIC as a leader in protecting our community. U of I administration obviously didn’t see it that way on day one, and it has taken them 11 negotiating sessions to come around on what we consider to be the most basic protections we could ask for.

While this is certainly a victory for faculty and the UIC community, the staunch resistance Administration put up leads us to suspect that nothing is going to come easily out of this process. We are continuing to have useful discussions around raises and other economic issues, but we are also preparing for every eventuality, and intend to continue raising the pressure on Administration. We will keep pushing forward until we win the best contract we can, for our members, and for the UIC community as a whole.

Take Action: Union Rally at Rare Board of Trustees Visit to Chicago
Given the overall slow progress of negotiations so far, we feel compelled to raise our concerns in front of a larger audience. Next week, Thursday, November 15th, the U of I Board of Trustees will be at Student Center West for one of their rare Chicago meetings. We, alongside our fellow UIC unions, will hold a rally and press conference to show the Board that we will not stand by and be railroaded with a take-it-or-leave-it contract. We will also be joining our fellow workers in the Licensed Practical Nurses bargaining unit, who will be going on strike for their own contract the same day.

We highly encourage our members and allies to attend one or both of these events on the 15th. If you are able to join us, please RSVP to UICUFJeff@gmail.com.

*        *        *

Until we win a fair contract, 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 | 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

01 Nov Administration’s Frightful Bargaining Position

While Halloween is over, frightening things still haunt us…

FACULTY BURIED BY WORKLOAD
How would you feel if your Dean told you next semester you had to teach an additional class without extra pay AND you were expected to keep up the same level of research and service? This happened last year in Applied Health Sciences. While faculty organized and used shared governance to push back, without enforceable contract language on how workloads are defined and updated, no one is protected from unilateral decisions to change faculty workloads.

FACULTY SALARIES FLATLINED
How would you feel if you were told full-time faculty at UIC are paid more than their peers? That is what was presented to the Board of Trustees in September. And just who are our peers? SUNY, Buffalo, U of Alabama at Birmingham, U of Cincinnati, U of Connecticut, U of Louisville, U of South Florida-Tampa, U of Utah, Virginia Commonwealth. However, compared to the other three Research 1 universities in Illinois, UIC tenure system salaries are well below Northwestern and U of Chicago. While comparable to UIUC, the cost of housing in Urbana-Champaign is 16% lower than Chicago.  A 2% salary increase – the amount offered by UI administration’s campus wage program for this academic year – barely covers inflation and clearly doesn’t help close the gap.

Source: AAUP 2018 Compensation Survey Excludes part-time faculty members, medical school faculty members, faculty who are primarily administrative officers, and graduate teaching assistants.

While we hope the Administration will prove us wrong, next week we expect them to offer a scarily insufficient raise proposal and the same status-quo zombie proposals we’ve already put to rest on issues like workload. This would be in keeping with what we’ve already seen in our own negotiations, as well as what our fellow UIC unions have experienced (7 months of non-movement for UIC GEO’s contract negotiations, unilateral rewrites by Admin on articles they’d already agreed to with INA).

UIC United Faculty and our fellow unions are not a gaggle of terrified teenagers in a Halloween horror movie. We will send ghastly contract proposals packing and fight for what our members and the UIC community deserve: Fair, Transparent and Accountable workplace policies, and raises that make good on years of salary stagnation. We hope you’ll stand with us in this effort!

*        *        *

Our next contract bargaining session is Monday, November 5th. Join us in respectfully observing the bargaining process from 2-5pm, at Student Center East, White Oak Room (on the 3rd floor). Even if you can’t be there, we are asking all our members to wear their UICUF T-shirts and pins that day to show solidarity and support for our bargaining team at the table. If you need a T-shirt, pin, or other UICUF materials, email us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com.

Until we win a fair contract, 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!

References in hyperlinks:
http://www.trustees.uillinois.edu/trustees/agenda/September-27-2018/r-sep-UIC-Performance-Metrics.pdf
https://www.insidehighered.com/aaup-compensation-survey
https://sites.google.com/a/bu.edu/zhuzhe/publications/3-tiers-of-us-research-universities-ranked-by-carnegie-classification-system
https://smartasset.com/mortgage/what-is-the-true-cost-of-living-in-chicago