UIC Faculty Strikes, Remains 'Far Apart' From Compensation Agreement

CHICAGO — Faculty members at the University of Illinois-Chicago went on strike on Tuesday after failing to reach an agreement for a new contract over the past nine months.

The union representing striking faculty members issued a statement on Monday night saying that members of the faculty would walk out on their jobs on Tuesday after negotiating sessions with the university failed to produce an agreement.

The union characterized the two sides as being “far apart” in compensation talks, saying that faculty members spent the past three years attempting to work through hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The campus is thriving, but many faculty are not,” Nicole Nguyen, a member of the union’s bargaining team and associate professor of criminology, law and justice said in a statement issued Monday night. “We have spent the past three years scrambling to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, and our whole community — students and faculty — are exhausted. Management needs to invest in resources that strengthen our entire community.”

School officials sent an email to the university committee indicating that the decision on whether to walk out on Tuesday was an individual choice.

“This work stoppage is disappointing and not in the best interest of the university or our students. However, UIC fully respects the rights of its employees under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act and other applicable laws,” the administrators wrote in the email.

The UIC Union Faculty represents more than 1,400 full-time, tenured, and non-tenured members. The union voted overwhelmingly in November to strike if ongoing contract negotiations failed to yield an agreement.

Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the union was certified in 2012 and approved the UIC’s first faculty contract in 2014 following a two-day strike, the first in school history.