UIC United Faculty

October 2, 2020

Down to Brass Tacks on the Fair Tax

UICUF Endorses a Fair Tax for Illinois: UICUF supports the Fair Tax ballot measure. The vast majority of our members (anyone making under $250k) will pay less or the same while the state raises funds vital to public institutions like UIC! The Fair Tax WILL: allow different incomes to be …

September 25, 2020

SEIU Wins Historic Contract Strike | Admin Concedes on IP Protections

SEIU Wins Historic Contract: SEIU reached tentative agreements on all of their contracts last night, ending their 10-day strike! UIC nurses ended their planned 7 day strike this past weekend, saying they’ve made great strides toward a contract agreement. Admin Extends IP Protections: After UICUF …

September 18, 2020

Shame: UICUF Appalled by Regressive Strike Breaking Tactics

SHAME UICUF Statement Against Regressive Strike Breaking Tactics UIC United Faculty (UICUF)—the union representing over 1,400 tenured and non-tenured faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago—is disturbed and appalled that the university administration has recruited scabs to substitute for …

September 14, 2020

INA/SEIU Strike Updates

INA Nurses Begin 7 Day Strike: UIC Nurses strike over COVID safety, safe staffing levels, and wages began Saturday 9-12-20 and will continue through the week, or until they get a fair contract. SEIU To Begin Striking Monday: SEIU, representing service staff, building services, and custodians both …

September 12, 2020

Alert: UIC May Assert Rights Over Online Course Materials

Intellectual Property Rights NOT Guaranteed: Admin has refused to extend IP protections on remote course materials being prepared for spring 2021. Course Prep Support May Trigger Rights Transfer: According to policies shared by Provost Poser, accepting course-builders, ION training, or a stipend …

September 4, 2020

UIC Staff and Nurses Prepared to Strike on 9/12

INA, SEIU Members Authorize Strikes: Our colleagues in the UIC nurses and staff unions, INA and SEIU, showed extraordinary resolve in recent votes authorizing their unions to strike over stalled contract negotiations. Scholar Strike Over Racial Justice: A call has gone out for a decentralized …

August 22, 2020

UIC United Faculty Statement on Campus Health, Safety, and Re-Opening

UIC United Faculty is eager to serve our students and effectively engage in the incredibly important project of education. That said, we have no confidence that the campus is reasonably safe. We do not have confidence that the Administration’s plan will sufficiently provide for a safe reopening, …

August 22, 2020

Press Release: UIC United Faculty Issues Statement on Campus Safety

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 21, 2020 CONTACTS Robert Johnston, UICUF Chief Steward 773-610-1442 robert.douglas.johnston@gmail.com Aaron Krall, UICUF Executive Vice-President 312-351-4172 aaronkrall@gmail.com Charitianne Williams, UICUF Communications Chair 773-531-3265 charitianne@gmail.com …

August 21, 2020

Despite Lingering Concerns, Faculty Voices DID Make A Difference

You Made a Difference: Despite ongoing issues, our actions as a united faculty dramatically reduced the number of people who will be on-campus and at risk this fall, won compensation for (some) faculty this summer, and secured faculty discretion in course delivery/recording. Safety Concerns …

August 1, 2020

Moving Forward, With Or Without An Agreement

Objections Disregarded: Provost Poser says she is moving forward with a summer compensation plan, one rejected by our membership, heedless of ongoing negotiations. Pattern of Bad Faith Bargaining: This is the latest and loudest gesture in a long pattern of undermining the union’s right to formal …

July 18, 2020

Reopening And Reappointment

Please read and consider signing the UICUF Bargaining Team’s “UICUF Statement on UIC’s Return to Campus Policies.” Deadline for NTT reappointment was yesterday-- please let us know your status. Attend the Provost's office hours TODAY from 1-2pm to participate in shaping UIC's Fall 2020 re-opening. …

July 10, 2020

UICUF Stands Powerfully For Academic Freedom And In Solidarity With International Students

UICUF membership meeting shows faculty ready to push hard for increased autonomy in fall, compensation for increased summer workloads UIC GEO’s International Student Caucus urges UIC administration to act in response to ICE’s decision about international students Attend the Provost's office hours …

June 18, 2020

The Town Hall We Should Have Had | Juneteenth Safe Space

The Town Hall We Should Have Had: Join us at 6pm this Thursday, 6/18, for a union-hosted town hall connecting the workers of our many campus unions together. Juneteenth Safe Space: We will host a Safe Space on Zoom for faculty of color to discuss their personal experiences from 12-2pm, Friday 6/19, …

June 13, 2020

Addressing Police Violence and Our Vision for a Safe Return to Classes

Addressing Police Violence: UICUF has signed in support of our Students’ Demands that UIC divest from aggressive policing and invest in our community. Please join us in supporting this effort by signing as an individual faculty member. UICUF Vision for a Safe Fall: Qualified health experts among …

June 4, 2020

Update on Raise Pools and Reappointment Notices

Raise pools are guaranteed in our union contract, which is legally enforceable even if administration offers no campus wage increase. Notice of deferred reappointments are required by the contract, but choice to postpone reappointment decisions rests solely with academic units. UICUF is …

May 30, 2020

UIC Admin Has a Responsibility to Bargain

**URGENT ADVISORY** Many faculty received notices today deferring a decision on their reappointment to July 15th. This notice is contractually required only if your academic unit is unable or unwilling to make a renewal decision by June 1st, and nothing in the union contract prevents units from …

May 7, 2020

Victory on PD Funds, Admin Declines to Negotiate on Other Issues

UICUF has won a victory on Professional Development funds - Admin agreed in writing to release travel funds for other uses, and to roll over unused travel funds into the 20-21 Academic Year! Labor Relations is now saying they will not move on any other impact bargaining issues, perhaps closing the …

May 2, 2020

Time for Admin to Take Bargaining Seriously

UICUF continued negotiating the impacts of COVID19 with the administration this week. While we have convinced admin to reconsider policies like reopening the library against all public health advice, they have made it clear that they are not interested in putting any agreements in writing. While …

April 24, 2020

Solidarity on Use of Student Evaluations

UIC recently announced that faculty will have a choice of whether or not to have student evaluations from this semester included in their merit and promotion reviews. Given the already imperfect nature of student evaluations, and the further disruption to teaching caused by the pandemic, UICUF has …

April 22, 2020

An Example of Workload Policies Created by UIC Faculty

UICUF has recommended faculty use shared governance to adopt workload policies protected by our contract ASAP. We’ve just received a copy of the newly approved workload policy for the English Department, which we hope can be used as a template for other academic units. Contact us at …

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