13 Feb UIC United Faculty Calls for Mediation
- UICUF Negotiators call for mediation, citing lack of progress on most critical issues
- Mediation is intended to clarify and overcome sticking points in negotiations
- The move underscores the urgency of addressing core issues after 8 months at the table
- MEMBER MEETING: Wed, 2/20, 3:30-5pm @SCE, 3rd floor, Cardinal Rm
- BARGAINING SESSION 18: Fri, 2/22, 1-4pm @SCE Tower, Rm 603
What’s Missing?
Faculty and the Administration continued having robust conversations around our proposals at the bargaining table last Friday, but something was still missing. Absent from the proceedings was any hint at compromise on some of the most consequential issues on the table, like raise pools. Admin negotiators, for example, insist on pegging merit pools to Campus Wage, which would put the figures well below inflation for the year. They simply haven’t moved an inch on raise pools, despite having returned several counter proposals on this article already. They also won’t discuss protections for health and retirement plans.
Meanwhile, Admin’s bait-and-switch tactics, like demanding repeated rewrites of discipline and academic freedom articles, only to discard them without comment, has caused deep concern among our team. We are certainly happy to see a surge of progress at the table recently, but we should have been having these conversations months ago, and are still far from an agreement.
A Call for Mediation
That’s why we have asked the Admin team to join us in requesting a 3rd party mediator to join the process. This is both a practical and technical step that we believe is necessary to move forward. On the practical side, it is our hope that a mediator will help cut through any confusion, and get negotiations on track where they have been stalling. Attempting mediation is, however, also a required step before a strike vote can be called. This move underscores the seriousness of our position in these negotiations: after 8 months of bargaining, failure to constructively address core issues is no longer an option.
For those interested in the full briefing on bargaining, why we’ve taken this step, and what comes next, we will have an All-Members Meeting on Wednesday, 2/20, 3:30-5pm @SCE, Third Floor, Cardinal Room. RSVP to UICUFJeff@gmail.com if you are able to attend.
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