U. of I. exec hardly sharing the pain

March 9, 2010

Some people just ruin things for the rest of us, and I put University of Illinois Chancellor Richard D. Ringeisen first in line.
While pulling down a whopping consulting fee of $273,500, this man is trying to balance the troubled budget of the university on the backs of the people who keep the place running. Three members of University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 staff chapter are being laid off. Not for a couple of days, but for a total of 23 weeks — almost half the year.

Read more at the Sun Times

How do you think an Illinois appellate court would rule?

Teachers lose pension ruling; Appellate panel says state can skip millions in payments

By LISA FLEISHER, STATE HOUSE BUREAU, North Jersey Media Group

In a ruling against the state’s largest teachers union, a three-member appellate court panel Thursday said New Jersey is not constitutionally required to pay the millions it owes every year into the fund for teachers’ pensions.

The decision came amid a fight in Trenton over how to fix the state’s underfunded pension plan, including a proposal that could make full funding a constitutional requirement.

Read the related article on nj.com

R U TICKED?

I am…in solidarity. Let’s make a change!

Salaries Fell for 32.6% of Faculty

March 8, 2010

The median salary change for faculty members in 2009-10 was 0 percent — and for many professors, no change would have been better than the decreases they experienced.
The figures on faculty salaries come from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, which is today releasing its annual report on faculty salaries. The CUPA-HR report focuses on overall trends and disciplinary averages. The American Association of University Professors, which is due to issue its report next month, also releases institution-by-institution information.

Read more at Inside Higher Ed

Thought you’d like to witness the progress on another UPI campus…We have a bargaining session today. Drop by the tables today and tomorrow for an update.

Western, UPI Reach Five-Year Tentative Agreement

MACOMB, IL — Western Illinois University President Al Goldfarb and University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) WIU Chapter President John Miller announced a tentative agreement on a five-year contract for faculty and academic support staff.

Pending ratification by collective bargaining unit members and the WIU Board of Trustees, the agreement will set contract terms for the 2010-2011 through 2014-2015 academic years.

Read more at WIU

Instructions: go to http://upi-tabling.genbook.com

1) Click on the “UPI Table Volunteer” link
2) Click on the “No preference” link
3) Select the date you‘d like to volunteer
4) Click on the time you’d like to volunteer –(this will automatically register you for 1 hour)
5) Enter your details as prompted—(your phone number must include an area code)
6) Confirm the appointment

1. Wednesday, February 24, Student Union 003 – noon – 1 pm
2. Thursday, February 25, LWH (CLS) 1002 – 1:40 – 2:50 pm

Weekly update on negotiations

Your UPI negotiating team met with the administration team on Tuesday. Our team passed counter proposals for the Grievance article and the Leave without salary article. It looks like we are getting closer to agreement on Grievance. We continue to wait for the administrative response in the form of a counter proposal to Intellectual Property article that we passed to the administration in early January.

Last week we passed workload proposals for Teaching and Resource Professionals as well as Instructors and Academic Resource Professionals (formerly known as temporary Resource Professionals). We did not receive counter proposals from the administration for workload.

On Tuesday, your UPI negotiating team proposed the roll over of the current language in the following articles: 26 – Retention; 27 – Tenure and 28 – Promotion. The administration passed proposals (with changes to the current language) for the following articles: 17 – Information and Reporting; 22 – Employment Status Statement; 26 – Retention and 30 – Sanctions and Termination.

See you at the membership meetings next week…

Today, the administration passed their written response to the grievance proposal but reported that they will require more time to prepare the administration’s response to our intellectual property proposal. The administration proposed the rollover of the following articles: Personnel Files, Dues Check Off, and Leave Without Salary. We will respond to their proposals at the bargaining session scheduled for next Tuesday.

Today, our negotiating team passed workload proposals that protect the working conditions of bargaining unit members and we anticipate the administration’s response to these proposals next week.

Don’t forget to stop by the UPI tables on Wednesday and Thursday this week…we’ll be in Village Square from 11 am to 3 pm.

Together, we have strength, commitment and community.

By February 15, 2010, you must notify your chair in writing that you wish to be considered for re-appointment. Please include in your notification your current per cent of appointment and your desired per cent of appointment for the next academic year. Please be aware that appointments that are less than 50% and/or 9 months will not include benefits. The reduction in per cent and length of appointment resulted in the loss of benefits for some instructors this academic year. The university must use the re-employment roster when developing the schedule for the 2010-2011 academic year. Your position on the roster is determined by years of service (seniority) and is not affected by your previous percent of employment. Make sure your chair knows that you wish to be re-employed and has generated the re-employment roster for your department or program.

I will include the contract language below for the re-employment roster and per cent appointment and length of appointment. Article 32.02 addresses the appointment of Instructors. Be sure to let all bargaining unit instructors know about the February 15 requirement to notify the chair. It must be in writing.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

CONTRACT LANGUAGE.

(b) Each academic year, the University will seek to provide 9 (nine) month appointments of at least two semesters to an Instructor who is employed at least 50% time or greater. A one semester appointment shall be equivalent to four and one-half months. Upon request, the Union shall be provided with written reasons for any appointment that is less than (nine) months of at least 50%.

(c) Re-employment Roster for Instructors
(1) By February 15 of each academic year, individuals holding Instructor appointments shall notify, in writing, the Chair of the Department in which they hold their appointment if they wish to be considered during the subsequent academic year for any available Instructor appointment for which they are qualified.

UPI members who volunteered to help with tabling, please check your alternate email addresses for the schedule.

Together, we have strength, commitment and community…

Colleagues in College of Education and College of Business and Management, please watch your email so that your colleges are represented on the UPC.

Please forward any questions about these elections to the chair of faculty senate, Judith Kaplan-Weinger (j-Kaplan1@neiu.edu) or Sabrina Guth (s-guth1@neiu.edu).