15 May NTT Face Urgent Challenges, UICUF to Attend Fall 2020 Planning Meeting
- NTT Caucus: Over 100 faculty participated in our first NTT Caucus this week, discussing urgent issues around job security, classroom safety, and the expectation of unpaid labor.
- Unemployment Eligibility: 150 NTT faculty appointments will end TODAY. Those whose appointments have lapsed are encouraged to file for unemployment ASAP. UICUF remains committed to full renewal of NTT appointments going into Fall 2020.
- Fall 2020 Planning Task Force: UICUF has been officially invited to the Fall 2020 Planning Task Force, meeting today. We will report on this meeting early next week.
- Your Stories: Faculty input informs our actions on planning committees, in bargaining, and in the UIC Senate. Select stories are being published and distributed (anonymously and with permission) to highlight the personal impact of this crisis. Email your story to us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com!
NTT Faculty Gather to Discuss Urgent Issues
While we are all coping with uncertainty around the pandemic and its impact on our work, NTT faculty face especially urgent challenges. For that reason, we convened our first NTT Caucus this week, with over 100 NTT members attending. Many of these faculty face the prospect of a summer filled with uncompensated preparation for courses in the Fall that they have no guarantee they will actually be hired to teach. Some will be without an official appointment, and therefore without pay or health insurance, by the time you read this message.
At this time, the Caucus is contemplating a number of possible actions to encourage the administration to do the right thing and make reappointment commitments ASAP. The first upcoming opportunity to make our needs known will be the Provost’s office hours this coming Friday, April 22nd. Email us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com if you want to be involved, or simply log in to share your concerns directly.
For those facing lapsed appointments right now, we strongly encourage you to file for unemployment benefits until such time as your appointment is renewed. You can learn more and file a claim at the Illinois Department of Employment Security website. While we cannot directly assist you with unemployment claims, you can email UICUF for advice on how to ensure your claim is processed fairly and efficiently. UICUF has already pushed for, and remains committed to, an across-the-board renewal of appointments for full-time faculty at UIC. We will continue to advocate for this demand front and center during our current Covid-related impact bargaining.
Invitation to the Fall 2020 Planning Task Force
Thanks to the pressure brought by hundreds of UIC United Faculty members, we have now (finally) been invited to participate in the Fall 2020 Planning Task Force. The task force should be meeting this afternoon, and our Executive Vice President, Aaron Krall, will be in attendance. This is a significant step forward in holding the administration accountable, but we intend to wait and see how this planning session unfolds before reporting back to you early next week. Among other things, we hope to point out the urgent issues NTT faculty face this summer as a truly time-sensitive priority the administration is obligated to address.
Faculty Share Our Stories
UIC faculty care deeply about the safety and success of our students, our academic peers, our university, and our community as a whole. UIC United Faculty is dedicated to enacting that vision of care and excellence, even under these truly unprecedented circumstances.That work is driven by your stories. We have encouraged you to send us your concerns and personal stories about how the COVID-19 Crisis has impacted you over the past few months, and the response has been overwhelming!
These are the stories we use to shape our internal decision-making as a union, and we felt that it was time to share some of them–with the administration, with the planning committee, and publicly on our website. All stories were published with the consent of the faculty members who sent them and have been anonymized to protect their identities. We want to encourage you to keep sending us your thoughts, your concerns, and your stories, so we can continue working toward a vision of UIC that is vibrant, safe, and strong moving forward.
***
We issue regular updates via email, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and on our website. We encourage everyone to like and follow us on social media. If you want to contribute your story, pictures, video, or other content related to the activities of the union, email us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com. With your support, we are making UIC an even better place to work and learn!
