Pat Barcas/staff photographer
After more than 18 months of negotiations, UIC faculty held a two-day strike, just days before they met with the university for additional negotiation talks. About 1,150 full-time tenured and non-tenured faculty walked out — the first in UIC history.
By Pat Barcas
Staff writer
Email Pat Barcas at pat@foxvalleylabornews.com
Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014
CHICAGO — University of Illinois at Chicago faculty members walked the picket lines Feb. 18 as part of a two day strike that they hope will net them greater pay.
About 1,150 full-time tenured and nontenured faculty members walked out, canceling most of the classes during the first strike in UIC’s history. Those on the picket lines said they had student support on their side.
“The effort today was great. It was exciting,” said Joe Persky, UIC economics professor and president of the UIC United Faculty Local 6456 union. He said he hopes the walkout will change the atmosphere when faculty meets with the university for talks Friday.
“They’ve been slow to recognize this is a union and we stand as one. This will drive the point home,” he said.
Persky said he’s seen great student support during the walkout.
“I’ve seen nothing but positive feedback from students. A lot of them are first generation college students. They know what it’s about to fight for your rights. I’m getting the sense that there’s something going on in the whole country — a refocus on faculty and students and not spending so much money on administrators.”
Photo courtesy of UIC United Faculty Local 6456
Various union supporters showed solidarity Feb. 18 when they marched on the strike line alongside members of UIC United Faculty Local 6456 during a 2-day strike.
The union has not reached an agreement with the university despite multiple bargaining sessions dating back 18 months. The union has called the university’s latest proposals “insufficient” on the grounds that faculty just aren’t paid enough. Many professors teaching first year students earn just $30,000 per year.
“I think this strike is a real teachable moment,” said Rico Gutstein, a professor at UIC since 2001. He walked the picket line all day Tuesday.
“It shows an idea that a common struggle that unites people is great. It opens a dialogue and makes people think, ‘what do we have in common?’” Gutstein explained.
According to the union, the University of Illinois has accumulated more than $275 million in unrestricted profits annually for the last four years and is on track to do so again for the 2014 fiscal year. This profit margin is more typical of for-profit universities like the University of Phoenix.
Tuition has also increased by 25 percent since 2007, while student enrollment is up by more than 10 percent.
The union also said it’s important to maintain competitive compensation for professors, or risk losing them to other universities.
On average, UIC professors — almost all with doctoral degrees representing three to seven years of study beyond their bachelor’s degrees — received no raises in two years, and three years ago administration actually docked pay through mandatory furlough days.
“I’m impressed with the determination of the faculty and the support of the students,” said Pauline Lipman, a UIC professor since 2006.
“They understand there’s an assault on public education, and a degradation of higher education. Hopefully this will wake up the administration that we’re serious, and we have student support,” Lipman said.