09 Jan Spring Semester Solidarity
- UICUF wants to welcome all our members back for Spring Semester!
- We will continue focusing on Shared Governance with a university-wide survey, and ongoing trainings on contract implementation
- IFT is hosting candidate forums for local primaries RIGHT NOW, and our Committee on Political Education (COPE) will be keeping you informed throughout the year on elections and issues.
- We will also be holding our own elections this semester for Executive Board and Representative Assembly.
First, UIC United Faculty wants to extend a warm welcome back to all our members as we begin a new year and our Spring Semester! Looking back, we accomplished so much last year, and we intend to carry forward with a strong program this year as well. This Spring, we will continue our focus on shared governance at the academic unit level, and give our members plenty of opportunities to engage with union efforts, and particularly with the political process in this important election year.
Shared Governance Transparency and Implementation
We’ve written a lot about shared governance this academic year, especially in light of the many new provisions we won in our contract that clearly state where faculty input is required. We’ve done several know-your-contract trainings by unit, and will continue offering tailored workshops to help your academic unit (school/department/division) fully take advantage of these new rights. If you would like to hold a training in your unit, please reach out to Jeff at uicufjeff@gmail.com or Sophie at uicufsophie@gmail.com.
We will also be conducting a shared governance survey open to all faculty this semester to better identify issues in need of further consideration, attention or education across the university. We will be relying on our members not only to respond to the survey, but to encourage colleagues to give their honest input as well, so keep an eye out for notifications by email letting you know the survey dates!
Political Engagement and Our Committee On Political Education
You may recall that we created an official Committee on Political Education in June 2018, with the purview to educate faculty and the community about political issues affecting higher education. They also have the power to raise money (separate from union dues which are never used for political campaigns), and endorse/contribute to local political candidates that prioritize support for public higher education in Illinois.
While our local’s COPE will remain tightly focused on local political races that could have a direct impact on UIC, our state and national affiliates, IFT, AFT, and AAUP will all be working at various levels to keep members engaged and informed on the political process in this important election year. IFT is holding candidate forums RIGHT NOW for state House and Senate primaries which will take place on March 17, and we encourage you to attend in your legislative district if you are able.
UICUF Elections
In addition to it being a major year for state and national elections, UICUF will be demonstrating our democratic values as a union by holding our own elections at the end of April. This is your opportunity to vote (or run) for positions on the Executive Board and Representative Assembly, which lead our union. We will be convening an elections committee shortly to set up and manage the election, and we’ll need volunteers to help! If you aren’t planning on running for other offices, we highly encourage you to contact us about getting involved as an election committee member!
2019 was a busy and successful year for faculty at UIC, and we’re looking forward to working with all of you in making 2020 even better! If you have questions, want to set up a shared governance workshop for your department, or want to get involved with UICUF’s COPE, email us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com.
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