UIC faculty authorize strike

CHICAGO (WAND) — A strike has been authorized by more than 75% of University of Illinois-Chicago United Faculty according to a release from UICUF. The strike would only go into effect if deemed necessary by the union.

UICUF stated that the university, "has refused to adequately address the issues of compensation, clear workload policies, and job security, among other issues."

“It took 11 weeks for the management team to even respond to our proposals on salary,” said Aaron Krall, UICUF President and co-chair of bargaining. “And when they did, it was impossible to see their response as a serious offer.”

UIC is not the only university going through heated contract negotiations. Faculty at EIU have asked for third party mediation in their negotiations and over 48,000 workers in the University of California system are currently on strike.

The University of Illinois-Chicago released a statement regarding negotiations that said,

"With 14 of 23 issues agreed upon to date and mostly economic articles yet to be resolved, the university remains fully committed to good-faith bargaining and the mediation process. At the beginning of negotiations, both UIC and UICUF agreed to first focus solely on resolving non-economic issues. The parties began exchanging proposals to address key economic issues in October. UIC believes continuing dialogue is the best path forward to come to a mutual agreement on the outstanding articles in the union contract."

UICUF said that an intent to strike notification is being filed by today, which means a strike could take place as early as December.