The session began after a lengthy wait for the Administration’s Bargaining Team to finish final changes to their proposal on a package of IV: Benefits and Leaves; Article X: Appointment, Reappointment and Promotion, Article XI: Hours of Work and Commitment, the Side Letter, and also a separate Memorandum of Understanding resolving the past misclassification of several of our bargaining unit members. This package includes items like, but not limited to–

• Multi-year contracts for the professorial track
• Departments being required to define full-time work so that extra work = extra pay
• Retirement access to the library

For the first time the Administration presented some movement on multi-year contracts for some classifications of the professional tracks.  We were encouraged that the Administration has begun to address this important issue, however we’re still working to make the eligibility requirements more reasonable. One concern is the complete exclusion of Research Assistant-Associate-Full Professors. So if you are one of the many professorial faculty in unit and multi-year contracts is important to you, consider coming to our next bargaining session. Our members showing up in the room is making a clear difference to the movement we are seeing at the bargaining table!

By the end of the session, the Union responded with counter-proposals to all five articles.  One of the most serious outstanding issues we’re seeing resistance on is making sure that our members have a voice when the Administration wants to change how much work counts as full time.  Setting workload expectations is a basic topic for collective bargaining that the Administration wants continued unilateral control over, and without a voice in setting these working conditions, too many non-tenure-track faculty see extra work without extra pay.

While there are still some serious concerns about what the Administration is offering, we are hopeful that we can reach resolution on some or all of these issues at our next session. But it depends on everyone doing their part. As the semester draws to a close, and some of our members leave for the summer–it is more important now than ever that you show up to bargaining if we hope to settle this contract before the Fall.  

Next Session:

Friday, May 17th

9:00am – 12:00pm (you can arrive and leave at-will)

Illinois Fire Service Institute { map } (Digital signs within the building will alert you to the room.)