We bargained for 9 hours yesterday and really laid it all out on the line. We have never been on strike for the sake of being on strike. It has always been to get a fair contract, and we tried hard to reach agreement. The session ended with everything in their court. We believe we are close to settling this contract, but the university very well could blow this whole thing up with how they respond next.
- Non-Discrimination & Anti-Harassment: We have TA’d this. Last session they threatened to withhold it, holding protections for survivors in exchange for whatever they can get for it. We’re glad they abandoned their heartlessness and put it back on the table to TA. We cannot overstate how important this language is to us, and we are relieved to have it settled.
- Wages: We came to an agreement at $22,590 in year 1, but remain far apart in the remaining years. The university is proposing 2% raises in each subsequent year for wages of $23,040 in year 2 and $23,500 in year 3. We’re currently asking for 6% raises in each subsequent year for wages of $23,945 in year 2 and $25,382 in year 3. When we first entertained the idea of a contract ending in 2025, we made it abundantly clear that members hated the idea and would only accept it if we offset the uncertainty of a later contract with higher wages. The university hasn’t moved at all from their 2%/2% structure since. We told them very directly that if they don’t make the calls they have to make to offer more than measly 2% raises, they would have squandered our good will and we will be returning to our proposals for contracts that end in 2024. The university must hear the demands of our members if they’re going to come in from strike.
- Healthcare & Fees: We have settled dependent care: UIC will now cover 25% of the dependent care cost regardless of how many dependents someone has, up from 20% for first dependents and 10% for second dependents. We believe this will have a huge impact for those affected and are pleased to have it settled. We have otherwise returned the CampusCare cost to the status quo $260 per semester; the university continues to try to increase it to $285 after year 2. In fees, we decided to trust the university when they signaled what they couldn’t do. We’ve heard many times that they can’t do what they later go on to do, but in a show of good faith, we took them at their word and stepped down to an international fee of $65 and removed reference to tuition differentials.
- Retro Pay: We have settled on $2000 retro pay for the past year or $1000 for the past semester. The university gave us a guarantee that if we settle this contract by midnight Monday, they’ll be able to guarantee those sums to everyone in the bargaining unit. We agreed to that deadline, but let us be clear: we agreed to this for the university’s sake. We still fully believe that the language we had previously was sound and ensured retro pay regardless of the university’s lethargy. We are happy to blow through their deadline, return to simpler retro pay language and a 2024 contract, and continue to escalate this strike until we win what we have set out to win.
We resume bargaining at 11:00 today. We hope we can settle this contract today, but the onus is on the university to make the movement on wages they have to make to bring us in from strike. If the university blows up this deal so close to the finish line, we must be ready to fight harder and longer. Come on out to our rally 12:00-1:00 and Civil Disobedience training with CTU 3:00-5:00, and as always, come picket any time 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00.
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