Long hours of contract negotiations between City Colleges of Chicago and their faculty and professional staff have transpired this week, but progress is slow, an official with the Cook County College Teachers Union said.
Nevertheless, union chief of staff Kaitlyn Skoirchet said she is “hopeful” the sides will reach an agreement before CCCTU’s Wednesday strike date.
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“We’re maintaining that open communication, and we’re continuing to meet, which has me thinking that something might be possible,” she said.
Thursday evening, CCCTU held a strike rally, with speakers including Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, a former teacher who announced his mayoral run earlier that day. Members prepared neon signs that stated “Strike Ready.”
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Skoirchet said the last contract negotiations in 2019 weren’t finalized until after the union had set a strike date.
The last time faculty and staff at CCC went on strike was in 2004. When that happened, the semester for CCC was extended to make up for the lost instructional time, Skoirchet said. She hasn’t heard of the City Colleges notifying students of its plans in the event of a strike, and she added that classes taught by adjunct professors could potentially go on, as those contracts are not part of their negotiations.
A City Colleges representative said Friday that the administration “continues to work closely with the union to reach an agreement that ensures a successful resolution for all.”
Skoirchet emphasized that “no one wants to go on strike.”
The contracts for faculty and professional staff expired in July. The length of the next contract is still under negotiation, but Skoirchet said talks are pointing to four years.
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“We are seeing some progress, but there are definitely areas that we are still very far apart on that are going to take time,” she said.
Among the sticking points are the union’s proposals for wraparound services for students and for a grievance process related to telework, Skoirchet said.
“We’ve been doing telework since the pandemic began,” Skoirchet said. “Colleges was very adamant that we were doing (telework) quite successfully, so to see this turn from, ‘We’re so proud of our faculty for handling the transition,’ to now, ‘Well, we’re not sure we have all the kinks worked out’ is frustrating.”
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The negotiations have also proved slow because of the CCC’s “package” approach, which means the two sides won’t take things off the table if an agreement is reached. Instead, each package is offered as “take it all or leave it,” union President Tony Johnston said.
Each of the nearly 30 proposals are constantly shifting during negotiations, Skoirchet said.
“It’s like this massive jigsaw puzzle that we’re trying to jiggle around,” she said. “And there’s a ton of pieces.”
