04 Oct “No” is not Negotiation
- UIC UF bargaining team raises possibility of mediation
- Management team resists, stating “No is a resolution.”
- Attend the next bargaining session on Tuesday, October 11th@12:30pm via Zoom or in-person SCE605
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At bargaining session 14, UIC management brought a number of articles for which they stated there was no more forward movement possible from their side. These articles included Article IV. Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment; Article VIII. Union Membership and Activity; Article XI. Governance; Article XII. Hours of Work and Commitment; Article XV. Discipline and Dismissal; and Article XVIII. Grievance and Arbitration.
They did not return with a counter proposal on either of our economic proposals, Article VI. Compensation, Leaves and Group Health, which they have had since August 8, nor Article IX: Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure, which they have had since July 25. We were told they should have a response to these proposals “by the end of the month.”
After some back and forth, the UICUF team felt that there was actually some possible movement left in Article XII. Hours of Work and Commitment–at least from our side, in response to management’s stated concerns–but we could not simply agree to management’s ultimatums on the other articles. After caucus, we asked again if there was truly no more negotiation from their side on the remaining articles, and were, again, told there was not. We asked if it was their intention to stop discussing these articles, and asked if there would be value in the bargaining team bringing counters to the next session? We were told there was not. Bargaining Co-chair Xóchitl Bada then raised 3rd party mediation (a common labor practice that has been used in all our prior rounds of contract bargaining with the management) as a possible source of resolution. Management’s response?
“We already resolved things. No is a resolution.”
That is not how bargaining works.
Bargaining session 15 will be held on Tuesday, October 11 from 12:30pm-2:30 pm. The administration team will be meeting with us via Zoom; members of the bargaining committee will be meeting both in-person in Student Center East room 605 and via Zoom. We encourage every UICUF member to witness the bargaining sessions for themselves, and share their insights with the team during caucus. It is understandable that members cannot stay for an entire session–feel free to drop in as you are able. But please plan to attend via Zoom or in-person next Tuesday to show that faculty have grown tired of management’s stalling and refusal to negotiate on key issues–and we have grown tired of working without a contract.
We want a fair contract NOW.
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)