Unions Grow at Illinois Universities

[RyanPsych]

CHICAGO - The University of Illinois United Faculty campaign, a partnership between the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors, recently gave the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board the amount of signed authorization cards necessary to form a union on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) campus.

"UIC will have a union!" proclaims the campaign's website. It says they "comfortably exceeded the number of votes required."

Meanwhile, four unions representing 3,400 educators and workers at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIUC) have issued a "notice of intent to strike," citing "disrespect" by school administrators' which led to an impasse in negotiations there. The SIUC Faculty Association, Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, Graduate Assistants United, and Association of Civil Service Employees unions are participating.

This news comes mere weeks after SEIU Local 73 successfully negotiated a new contract for building maintenance and food service workers on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus.

The negotiations there dragged out until the very end of the workers' previous contract, after university administration deliberated for eight months over specifics hoping to break worker resolve. Strong support from the Graduate Employee's Organization and solidarity shown by students in the week before the contract was signed helped reach the agreement a day before workers would have been forced to strike.

The primary factor driving Illinois universities' faculty and staff to engage in collective bargaining struggles lies in certain university administrators' chosen method of dealing with budget shortfalls.

They have consistently mentioned the need for "sacrifice" in the face of budget cuts, but have chosen to direct most of that sacrifice towards students and workers rather than others close to them.


Continue reading at: http://www.peoplesworld.org/union-strength-grows-at-illinois-universities/

[madrchsod]

1. thanks for the link...

even though we put the governor in office he has`t been the most vocal supporter of unionization. there`s a 2 month union action going on right now to raise the rate of funds that are given to community based mentally and psychically private/state funded health care facilities. my wife has`t had a pay raise in 4 years and she is looking at another 2-3 years of no pay raise.

thanks again for the link .my wifeis the political action chairperson of her local. she `ll use illinois`s people`s world information.

[66 dmhlt]

2. Hail to the Orange, Hail to the Blue - Hail Alma Mater Ever so True ...

[Shireling]

3. This is great news

but I don't understand having to get permission to form a Union. Did the very first Unions in this country get permission?

[patrice]

4. K&R

[patrice]

5. God bless Labor!