12 Sep Know-Your-Contract Collection
- UICUF is dedicated to helping faculty understand their rights under the union contract
- Our Know-Your-Contract Series details how the contract applies to faculty’s everyday work life, and is also available via our website
- UICUF will offer department-specific Know-Your-Contract workshops this fall. To request a workshop for your department, contact us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com.
Over the Summer, we’ve posted a variety of updates on how the new contract affects faculty day to day. We’ve now compiled this Know-Your-Contract series under the links below so that you can easily navigate to the topics that are most important to you.
Since the contract relies on faculty knowing and asserting their rights, especially in the use of shared governance to set department policies, we will be offering Know-Your-Contract workshops on a department-by-department basis this Fall semester. Workshops can be tailored to the specific circumstances of your department, so contact us at UICUnitedFaculty@gmail.com if you would like to set one up for yourself and your colleagues.
Here is a summary of the Know-Your-Contract postings on our website:
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
One of the most important, but also hotly debated concepts in academia today, we explain specifically what our contract and the UI statutes have to say about academic freedom, how it is protected, and how we can further strengthen these important rights.
APPOINTMENT AND REAPPOINTMENT
Reappointments are a big deal, especially for NTT faculty. A key element of our new contract was to speed up time to muti-year appointments, and improve the notification process. Learn about your rights regarding multi-year appointments, when they should be applied, and when you are entitled to know about your appointment status each academic year.
DISCIPLINE AND DISMISSAL
A detailed explanation of your rights in the discipline process, including the right to union representation, expectations of due process, and what each step of that process should look like.
EVALUATIONS
Learn about your right to a timely, transparent, and appropriate annual evaluation, how they should be performed, how student input can and can’t be used, and what these evaluations should and should not be used for.
GRIEVANCES
While we hope not to have to file them often, grievances are the backbone of contract enforcement. This is the formal process by which faculty, with assistance from the union, can seek redress for breaches of the contract. Learn how the grievances work, including your rights, what you should do if you think you have cause to file, and what to expect from the process.
LIFE-CHANGING EVENTS
Though this set of rules is most commonly associated with a new child entering the home, it can also cover you if your family is impacted by a terminal condition or untimely death of a loved one. Learn about your rights under FMLA, and the extension of accommodations under existing UI System policy.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS
A deep dive into Professional Development funds, including guaranteed amounts, and how to use them.
RAISES
Extensive information on how pay raises are determined, including the types of raises (Minimums, Merit, Compression/Equity, Promotions), the role of shared governance in deciding pay increases, use of guaranteed Professional Development funds, and how retro pay will work. Note that the university has advised that retro-pay will be distributed in October paychecks at the time of this writing.
TECHNOLOGY
Technology is central to the work of a modern university, and our new contract has a lot to say on the subject. Learn more about faculty rights to university provided computers, in-classroom technical support, and even a bit about the intersection between classroom tech and intellectual property rights.
WORK LOADS
The new contract specifies a role for shared governance in defining work loads in each department. Learn more about how those definitions should be created, what must be covered in these definitions, and how your work expectations are protected from abrupt changes mid-contract.
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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!
