FAQs

UIC United Faculty, the labor union representing the bargaining units of tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty at 51% or more time, including visiting faculty, at UIC. The union represents 38% of the faculty on our campus. Faculty in the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, and the School of Law are not members of the union.

UIC United Faculty represents more than 1,400 full-time tenured and non-tenured faculty members, approximately 38% of all faculty, at UIC. While the union has indicated that striking faculty will not teach their classes or labs, the decision to strike is up to each faculty member. Union members are not required to inform UIC whether they will strike and the university is not permitted to inquire about their status.

While the union has indicated that striking faculty will not teach their classes or labs, the decision to strike is up to each faculty member. Union members are not required to inform UIC whether they will strike and the university is not permitted to inquire about their status. The number of classes, labs and students that may be affected is unclear and depends on the level of participation in the strike.

To date, the university and the union have reached a tentative agreement on 17 contract articles, including academic freedom; management rights; diversity and affirmative action; access to personnel file; no strike/no lockout; grievance and arbitration; non-discrimination and anti-harassment; and more.

All remaining articles have been shared and are being negotiated, including key economic proposals. During a Jan. 20 bargaining session productive discussions were made toward narrowing the differences on all remaining issues between UIC and UIC United Faculty. Learn more.

Information detailing the remaining articles currently being negotiated and the bargaining positions of both parties, as of Jan. 18, is available here.

The institutional base budget for university operations, which pays for faculty salaries, comes from student tuition and State of Illinois appropriations. The State of Illinois covers associated benefit costs for health, medical, dental and retirement for any employee paid from a state fund (appropriations and tuition). If this were not the case, those payments on behalf as they are referred to, would cost an estimated $796 million.

No. The university believes the union is incorrectly referencing FY21 financial statements. The $1 billion amount UICUF may be quoting is cash and not unallocated recurring budget funds and includes all operating funds both restricted and unrestricted (tuition, indirect cost recovery, royalties, grants, contracts, gifts for distribution, auxiliaries, the hospital and medical service plans) for all three University of Illinois campuses; UI Health, system-wide administration, etc. as our financial statements are consolidated.

Union leaders representing faculty have suggested unrestricted cash reserve funds be used to pay for salary increases. The university must be very careful about utilizing reserve funds for recurring expenses. Committing one-time cash for permanent, ongoing costs like salaries would create a structural budget deficit that would soon deplete these funds. Maintaining adequate cash reserves is essential to the financial stability of any organization and any university, college or unit.

The university’s plan will assess how to best enhance the health and well-being infrastructure with a commitment to build a strategy to allow all students who desire a mental health or psychological/neuropsychological assessment to receive one.

UIC shares the union’s concern about the importance of student mental health but the university continues to insist that a clause regarding student mental health services should not be associated with a single union contract.

In FY 2022, the Counseling Center expenditures totaled $1.96 million. This will be a cumulative addition over six years to the Counseling Center budget.

The current collective bargaining agreement between UIC and UICUF expired Aug. 15, 2022. It is not unusual to negotiate a contract after its expiration, and UICUF members have and will continue to receive compensation and certain benefits under the terms of the existing contract until a new agreement is reached.

Negotiations began in April 2022. Since then, the university and union met at least every other week and have been meeting more frequently since early Sept. To date, we have had 32 bargaining sessions and are committed to continuing our talks.

It is not uncommon for bargaining to continue well past the expiration date of an existing contract agreement. In October, the parties agreed to engage an independent mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in hopes of successfully reaching an agreement on the last key issues. The mediator joined the talks beginning with the 18th bargaining session held Oct. 31. The university is committed to ensuring that a new agreement is reached as expeditiously as possible.

At the beginning of negotiations, both UIC and UICUF agreed to first focus solely on resolving non-economic issues. We began exchanging proposals to address key economic issues in October.

During a bargaining session Oct. 17, the parties agreed to add an independent mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to the negotiation sessions and to continue bargaining while awaiting the mediator’s assignment and schedule. The mediator joined the talks beginning with the 18th bargaining session held Oct. 31. Mediation is often a very effective tool to help negotiating parties continue their work productively, and UIC is fully committed to the mediation process. We are hopeful that an impartial mediator’s broad knowledge, and input as a neutral participant, will help us reach a fair and fiscally responsible contract agreement as soon as possible.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Jan. 22.  We believe much can be resolved through continued dialogue, and the university remains willing and available to meet more frequently to accelerate a final agreement.

The university has an obligation to its students and its primary objective will be to continue normal operations to the fullest extent possible, including minimizing the disruption to instruction, meeting course objectives and ensuring timely grading. While the union has indicated that striking faculty will not teach their classes or labs, the decision to strike is up to each faculty member.

Students should check Blackboard and email for information regarding the status of their specific classes. If there are interruptions in class and lab schedules during a strike, make-up arrangements must be implemented to ensure that the instructional objectives are met.

Teaching assistants are expected to hold their regularly scheduled classes, labs and office hours. It is important to note that a strike would NOT impact classes or labs in the Colleges of Pharmacy, Dentistry or Medicine, the School of Law or courses taught by faculty who are less than 51% time. Campus health care facilities will also remain open in the event of a strike.

Students should check their course Blackboard sites and check their email for information from instructors regarding the status of their specific classes or labs. You should attend if you have not been told the class or lab is canceled.

A strike would NOT impact classes in the Colleges of Pharmacy, Dentistry or Medicine, the School of Law or courses taught by faculty who are less than 51% time. In addition, teaching assistants are expected to hold their regularly scheduled classes, labs and office hours.

Students should check their course Blackboard sites and check their email for information from instructors regarding the status of their specific classes or labs. You should attend if you have not been told the class or lab is canceled. Alternatively, contact the departmental home of the class or lab.

Please wait for at least 15 minutes before leaving and then contact the department or college that houses the class or lab.

The staff in the department offering the course will be available to respond to questions or problems that might arise.

Responses to missed classes will be handled at the departmental level. While it is impossible to predict exactly what will happen and describe all possible responses, the campus has made a concerted effort to plan for a variety of contingencies.

Academic departments will determine the most appropriate solution for each course.

Changes to the academic calendar due to a strike are not anticipated.

Students are able to add and drop courses through my.uic.edu until 11:59 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 22. In the third week of the semester, the Registrar will work with college advisors to allow for flexibility relating to late adds of courses where departmental approval and instructor permission is required. No late registration fees will be assessed due to a strike for classes added after the online drop and add period. UIC advisors using the Registration Revision Form can indicate whether a tuition refund is appropriate due to any strike-related delay to drop a course.

The university is working diligently to settle the contract before a strike occurs. If a strike does take place, we hope to reach an agreement as soon as possible to avoid a prolonged work stoppage. Regardless of how long the strike lasts, the faculty are still responsible for teaching all of the requirements of their courses and we are confident that they will make up anything that is missed. In the event of an extended strike, it is unlikely that the university would refund a portion of tuition unless a significant portion of instruction could not be made up. However, we do not anticipate a prolonged work stoppage, nor do we believe our faculty want that to occur.

If a refund of tuition is sought that is different from the refund schedule outlined at registrar.uic.edu/financial-matters/refund-schedule/ due to a strike-related delay, students can consult with a college advisor and the advisor can make use of a paper university withdrawal form to have all classes dropped for the student. The advisor can indicate a date within the withdrawal form that corresponds to an appropriate refunding percentage based on the standard refunding schedule.  This process is commonly completed by advisors in the event of extenuating circumstances outside the student’s control.

If you received financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, loans, etc., and you drop below full-time or wish to cancel your registration, your financial aid may be affected and, in some circumstances, students may potentially owe the university and/or the Federal Government money to return funds. It is recommended that you contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships before making any decisions.

If you are covered under CampusCare and needed to see a doctor, but need to cancel your registration within the allotted timeframe, we recommend that you reach out to the CampusCare Office.

Students are responsible for all claims paid on their behalf by Campus Care. It is recommended that the students contact the UIC Campus Care Office at 312-996-4915 to clarify their circumstances.

Students have a right to attend classes during a strike. Students, employees and members of the public have a right to enter academic and administrative buildings and to do so without being intimidated, coerced or threatened. Picketing on public property is usually lawful so long as the picketing is peaceful, does not create a disturbance and does not block entrances and exits.

If you are reporting to class during the strike, please know that:

• The university will take all necessary steps to protect your right to enter and leave without interference.
• Picketers and strikers are not permitted to block a door, driveway, crosswalk, or other entrance or exit.
• Union officials and picketers have a right to talk to people going in or out of campus buildings. However, the decision to respond or interact with union officials or picketers is up to the individual.
• Intimidation, threats and coercion are not permitted, either by verbal remarks or physical behavior.
• Any attempts to interfere with your passage should be reported to 312-355-5555.

Please call 312-355-5555.

Answers to common strike-related questions are available online at facultybargaining.uic.edu/faqs/. Otherwise, please contact the Office of the Provost at 312-413-3450.

Please visit facultybargaining.uic.edu and today.uic.edu for up-to-date information.

Yes, please inform your students through the course Blackboard site or by email.

Faculty and staff who are not represented by UICUF are expected to perform their job duties as usual. Faculty members in the College of Pharmacy, the College of Medicine and the College of Dentistry, and the School of Law are not in the union and are not eligible to participate in a strike. Teaching assistants are expected to hold their regularly scheduled classes, labs and office hours.

Students and parents who have paid tuition in order to receive a quality education have reason to expect that the objectives of their courses will be fulfilled. If there are interruptions, make-up arrangements must be implemented to ensure that the instructional objectives are delivered as promised.

Please be reminded that the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research’s Office for the Protection of Research Subjects (OPRS) and mandatory compliance with IRB-approved guidelines for all research involving human subjects requires that study principal investigators (PIs) be available to provide appropriate oversight and supervision of research staff and human subject volunteers. Faculty PIs who are absent during a strike action must ensure that a qualified and trained PI or co-investigator is available to provide appropriate supervision when any UIC staff or student performs research activities with human subjects.

If PI supervision is not available, research activities must be stopped or put on hold.  Please notify faculty researchers in your college who may have protocols open to enrollment or continuing protocols. Investigators with therapeutic studies that may be affected by a strike should immediately contact OPRS at uicirb@uic.edu to ensure a safety plan is in place.

You may refer any related questions to Jon Klein, UIC associate vice chancellor for research, at jonklein@uic.edu, or Elaine Fluder, director of the Office for the Protection of Research Subjects, at efluder@uic.edu.

Yes, but before a strike may occur, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act requires that the parties to have engaged in mediation without success and that the union has filed a Notice of Intent to Strike at least 10 calendar days prior to calling a strike. UICUF filed the legally required notice on Nov. 17.

Only current members of the bargaining unit represented by UICUF, namely tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty at 51% time or more, including visiting faculty, at UIC can strike. Faculty members in the College of Pharmacy, the College of Medicine and the College of Dentistry, and the School of Law are not in the union and are not eligible to participate in a strike. Certainly, employees in other employee groups may elect to not cross picket lines, however, the university’s normal procedures governing approved absences remain in effect.

Faculty receive a salary, stipends and insurance benefits in exchange for performing job duties. Any deliberate refusal to fulfill job objectives could result in the faculty member’s pay being withheld.

Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that prohibits such employees from striking or picketing may be required to cross the picket line and work, or be subject to discipline, up to and including discharge. This includes members of GEO, SEIU, Teamsters, Illinois Nurses Association, etc. Employees in other employee groups may elect to not cross picket lines, however, the university’s normal procedures governing approved absences remain in effect.

Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez, associate vice chancellor for strategic marketing and communications, will act as the official spokesperson to the media. You may forward media queries to her at smcginn@uic.edu or 312-996-2398.

You may contact the Office of Human Resources, specifically Keino Robinson, director of labor and employee relations, keinor@uic.edu or Michael Ginsburg, associate vice chancellor for human resources, ginsburg@uic.edu.