CHICAGO, Ill — As UIC United Faculty enters the fourth day of their strike, Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) President Dan Montgomery issued the statement below urging interim Chancellor Javier Reyes and the University of Illinois at Chicago administration to bargain seriously and end the strike.
“It is outrageous that the dedicated educators in UIC United Faculty (UICUF) had to resort to a work stoppage once again. For nearly a year, they have been bargaining with UIC administration without success. Chancellor Reyes hasn’t attended a session or engaged with the union since May 2022. Simply put, this is malfeasance. The administration owes it to our students and members to start bargaining in good faith. We urge Chancellor Reyes to do the right thing and settle this now so students and faculty can return to their classrooms on Monday.
“People are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, economically, emotionally, and mentally. UICUF is demanding that the U of I provide the same psychological and neuropsychological assessments for their predominantly Black and Brown students that it offers to students at the Urbana-Champaign campus. UIC students desperately need this support, and it’s a matter of educational justice that they receive it, too.
“They are also seeking a fair wage, particularly for their lowest paid members whose salaries are less than that of educators in comparable jobs in Chicago.
“I commend the incredible work of UICUF’s leaders and members. Their tenacity and commitment to positively transform UIC for students and faculty is inspiring. Our 103,000 IFT members proudly stand in solidarity with them.”
Negotiations are scheduled to take place today at 2:00 pm.
UIC United Faculty (Local 6456) represents tenure/tenure-track and full-time non-tenure track faculty in most academic departments at UIC. They are affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers.