CHICAGO — The Chicago State University chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois stood on the picket lines Monday after almost a year of negotiating for better wages. More than 70 union members held green and white signs with the words “on strike for a fair contract” at 95th Street and King Drive in Chicago.
“We are here until we get a fair contract,” said CSU UPI Chapter President Valerie Goss. “I feel a little frustrated and disappointed that we were not able to get the administration to provide us with a fair contract, but in terms of the energy here — it is great. And in terms of commitment, it is inspiring. We are hoping our voices can make a difference.”
CSU UPI members previously voted to authorize a strike if the administration refused to make significant movement at the bargaining table. After unsuccessful negotiations April 1, members decided to go on strike for as long as it takes. Picketing will occur on campus from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day the union is on strike.
While union faculty is on strike, classes, labs and university support are mostly functioning as normal, CSU officials said, advising students to attend all classes and labs unless told they are canceled.
To start off the rally with more than 30 faculty and students gathered around her, Goss noted the increasing financial inequity at CSU.
“Their disinvestment in our faculty you know is a direct disinvestment in our students,” Goss said. “This disinvestment is a disregard for our students. It’s showing disrespect for our students — it’s showing that you don’t prioritize the students. How can you have the best for our students without proving the best for our faculty?”
CSU is the state’s only Predominantly Black institution, and colleges and universities that are designated as PBIs have low-income and first-generation college students as more than 50% of their student body.
“Our students come from Black and brown communities,” Goss said. “I don’t understand why is it that these students, our students, have to endure faculty being paid less than any other institution. There is not an equitable picture here at the moment.”
A better, fairer contract would help retain current faculty, while also pushing recruitment efforts forward, she added.
CSU UPI members are particularly frustrated that CSU President Zaldwaynaka Scott — who has not been present at any bargaining sessions — received a 16.03% increase in the 2022-23 academic year, yet the administration refuses to offer employees even modest increases.
According to Scott’s 2022 contract obtained by the Tribune, her annual base salary is $425,000 with a discretionary bonus not to exceed $25,000.
CSU administration has been officially bargaining with CSU UPI since June 6, 2022, with large differences in the parties’ positions when it comes to the university’s finances. The Illinois Federation of Teachers said another bargaining session is scheduled for Tuesday.
“The union is determined to strike, despite it being unclear how a strike would produce a better outcome than continuing good faith negotiations or interest arbitration,” officials said in a statement Monday. “CSU has intently listened to the union and carefully considered each and every one of its requests. We have achieved agreement on significant issues, including workload, office hours, parental leave, and other points as they were raised during our bargaining sessions. Yet the financial realities at the university remain.”
IFT President Dan Montgomery criticized university leadership for dragging their feet.
“No one goes on strike for their own pocketbook, no one goes on strike just because they want another half percent raise — you go on strike to defend your profession and your institution,” Montgomery said. “And that’s what this president doesn’t understand. Negotiations for a year? Shame on them. How long does it take to get a contract? You could do it in a day if you wanted to!”
UPI has 3,000 members in education in Illinois, Montgomery said. “We are all here with you,” he added.
UPI members at Eastern Illinois University and Governors State University have also been bargaining with their respective employers to secure fair contracts for several months, with strikes at both state universities looming if talks end unsuccessfully this week. EIU is scheduled to have a bargaining session April 7, while union members at GSU have an additional bargaining session scheduled for Thursday and could strike as early as April 7.
Zee Space, a CSU graduate student in clinical and mental health and a member of the Black Student Psychological Association, expressed her concerns over inadequate support for CSU staff.
“They choose to work here so that students like me and thousands of other students receive an overall quality education — for that I cannot be silent,” Space said. “If you want to make a change you must have a seat at the table, and today I sit at the table on the side of faculty and staff.”
Tara Stamps, speaking on behalf of the Chicago Teachers Union, told striking members of CSU UPI not to be afraid of withholding their labor until an equitable contract is reached.
“We are fighting for the respect of our profession, the profession that we went to school for,” she said. “I think about everything these young people have gone through just to be at this university — neighborhood violence, school closures, disinvestment in the community — everything they have survived already.”
Stamps cited union workers across the city and country striking for fair contracts and better working conditions, including at Starbucks, Amazon and CTU.
“Where there is people there is power,” she said. “Do not leave that table until you get everything you came for.”
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