Faculty say they will remain on strike until they are offered a fair contract.
CHICAGO- After a disappointing counter offer from UIC management, UIC United Faculty (UICUF) remains on strike this week. The next bargaining session has not yet been scheduled.
Union members and allies have been on strike since Tuesday after a 12-hour negotiating session on January 16 failed to result in agreement on a new faculty contract. The contract applies to 1500 tenure and non-tenure track faculty at UIC, of whom 900 are dues-paying members of the union. More than 96% percent of University of Illinois-Chicago United Faculty (UICUF) members who voted authorized a strike back in November, if the bargaining team determined it necessary to secure a fair and equitable contract. Faculty have been working without a contract since August 16, 2022.
“I think it is clear that the faculty and students are together and standing strong. We have had amazing bargaining support Monday and today–the community is with us,” said Anna Kornbluh, Professor of English and a member of the UICUF bargaining committee. “It is equally clear that the UIC management team is working in a leadership vacuum.”
The union is pushing for higher minimums for the lowest paid faculty and raise pools that keep up with inflation and remain competitive with other institutions. Student mental health and on-campus neuropsychological assessment have played a central role as well–faculty have pointed at the lack of resources for students as a major cause of increasing workloads and faculty fatigue. They are asking that the campus provide student wellness resources equal to those provided to other students in the system.
Picketing will resume tomorrow, 1/19:
College of Nursing, 10-11:30am and 1:30-3pm
University Hall, 10am-12pm and 1-3pm
Quad, 10am-12pm and 1-3pm
Science and Engineering South, 10am-12pm and 1-3pm
The UIC United Faculty (Local 6456) represents the bargaining units of Tenure/Tenure-Track and Non-Tenure Track faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago. UICUF is affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Association of University Professors.
