NEIUPI

CARBONDALE — Tenured educators and those on track to become so are on strike at Southern Illinois University as part of a labor dispute with administrators of the 20,000-student school.

WSIU-FM reports that the Faculty Association union representing the tenured and tenure-track educators was the only one of four bargaining units unable to reach a deal before Thursday’s strike deadline.

It was not immediately clear how many educators were participating in the walkout or what impact it would have on classes Thursday.

The university has said it would maintain business as usual if there was a strike, relying on replacements to fill in for missing faculty.

Details of the tentative contracts reached with the three other Illinois Education Association-affiliated bargaining units at the school were not immediately released.

Hundreds of Faculty Demand Rights, Authorization Cards Being Delivered to Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board Today

Chicago, IL – Representatives from the UIC United Faculty campaign today will deliver hundreds of signed authorization cards to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB,) marking the first time in Illinois history that a large public research university’s faculty have organized a union. The broad and diverse coalition of faculty from across various academic spectrums formed and led the UIC United Faculty campaign in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT,) the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).

“My academic research and management consulting over the last 40 years have focused on improving organizational performance, often through employee empowerment. I support the UIC United Faculty union because faculty collective bargaining offers the best (and indeed only) way that UIC can accomplish its mission at a reasonable cost to the state and its students,” said Darold Barnum, Professor of Managerial Studies at UIC.

Read more at UIC United Faculty…

If the NEIU UPI memberhip rejects the latest administrative proposal, we will not be alone:

SIU-C Faculty Association rejects contract offer

The SIUC Faculty Association has become the latest union to reject the contract offered to them by the administration.

The union put forth an initial contract offer that included salary increases, free tuition and fees for families and two years salary as retirement incentive that reportedly would cost the university more than $20 million, according to an SIUC news release.

The administration then presented a one-year contract of “last, best and final terms” which the union bargaining team refused to take back to its members for a vote.

Union president Randy Hughes said the union found the contract to be “totally unacceptable.” He said the union put forth multiple options, but there was no room for negotiation. The one-year contract will be implemented by the university on April 5 if the union does not ratify it before then.

The terms of the one-year contract include a one-year salary freeze for the current fiscal year, implementation of four furlough days to be scheduled by the faculty member and immediate supervisor and new language establishing a “structure and process for reductionsin force for future faculty layoffs.” According to the university, the language keeps the union’s right to bargain for its members should reductions be considered in the future. However, there are no plans for layoffs for fiscal year 2011.

Hughes said the administration’s offer “failed to meet the faculty’s interests on several major issues.”

The union demands included salary increases for the 2011 fiscal year, longevity pay increases, a new higher minimum salary for faculty, first crack at summer contracts and a fee to non-represented faculty that equals union dues, according to the university.

Hughes said the faculty association is willing to negotiate but both sides must be willing to do so.

The university statement expressed a hope for the union to accept the final offer.

“We regret that we were unable to reach agreement with this group,” the statement read. “We hope that the F.A. will accept our last, best, and final offer. SIUC values our faculty and the contributions that they make to this University. Ultimately, the best interests of the students remain the focus of SIUC.”

Hughes said he sees a pattern in that other campus unions, such as the Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association and the Association of Civil Service Employees, also have hit impasses despite the inclusion of a federal mediator. He said the administration’s tactics have created an “unnecessary level of conflict and uncertainty about the future of the university.”

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com

618-351-5804

Presidential Tenures on the Line

February 24, 2011

The Board of Trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago voted Wednesday to change the job description of college president at its seven institutions and encourage new candidates to apply, while telling the incumbents they have to apply if they want to keep their positions.

This is yet another step in Chancellor Cheryl L. Hyman’s ongoing effort to “hold all faculty and management accountable for the success” of the system’s “Reinvention” plan. The new job descriptions for the college presidents include “specific performance measures and goals that these individuals must achieve.” The four goals are:

* “Increasing the number of students who earn college credentials of value.”
* “Increasing the rate of transfer to bachelor’s degree programs following CCC graduation.”
* “Significantly improving outcomes for students requiring remediation.”
* “Increasing the number and share of ABE/GED/ESL students who advance to and succeed in college-level courses.”

“We have made student success the focus of our reinvention efforts, and going forward, we must measure the performance of our leadership and staff against that goal,” said Chairman Martin Cabrera Jr. in a statement released by the system. “By re-defining the role of our college presidents, we are making it clear that our institution, including the Board and senior leadership, has clearly defined goals that increase accountability and ensure CCC is providing value to our students.”

Read more at Inside Higher Ed…

CHARLESTON – The Eastern Illinois University administration and the EIU chapter of University Professionals of Illinois have reached a tentative two-year contract agreement, university officials said Tuesday.

Both parties are pleased with the tentative pact, said Bob Wayland, chief negotiator for the administration. The UPI’s chief negotiator was EIU faculty member Jonathan Blitz.

The tentative two-year agreement provides across-the-board salary increases of 1.5 percent the first year and 1.25 percent the second year. Further details will be made public after UPI members have been notified of the contents of the tentative contract, a university spokeswoman said.

The UPI is the collective bargaining agent for faculty and academic support professionals at EIU.

The UPI membership will vote on the agreement. If it is ratified, it will go to the EIU Board of Trustees for final approval. The next BOT meeting is Jan. 14.